Bora - Argon 18 was convincing with a very good team performance at the fourth monument of the season. After some team riders had tried before, it was Cesare Benedetti who was finally able to establish himself in the deciding group of the day. Benedetti, who has proven his form at the Giro del Trentino lately, was one of the last attackers to be chased down by the favorites after 150 kilometers.

It was that part of the race that led to a pre-selection caused by the climbs but also by some crashes. Dominik Nerz was also involved in a crash but he could continue the race without an injury. Jose Mendes underlined his great shape by establishing himself in the selective group of favorites. It took until the final climb when the length of the race took its toll for Mendes but he was still able to finish on a great 23rd place. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) won the oldest of the classics.

“It was a real fight right from the start of the race because many groups attacked. We were attentive and made it into many of those initial groups. It worked out with Cesare finally to be part of the deciding group again. Unfortunately the peloton started the chase quite early so the gap was already under a minute before the climbs. Cesare did a top job as well as the other guys who jumped into the groups at the beginning,” said sports director Enrico Poitschke.

“We then concentrated to position Jose and Dominik in the climbs so both could save energy. The team did that very good. Unfortunately, Dominik and Emanuel [Buchmann] were involved in crashes and Paul [Voss] had to quit at the feeding. It’s a pity that we were reduced in the final 50 kilometers, even though we were still present in the lead with Jose. His 23rd place is quite respectable but without the bad luck even a better result would have been possible."