"The difference between last year and this year is experience - where and when to be at the front on the final climb and how to fight for position in a sprint with 40 riders."

Those were the words of Astana's Ruslan Tleubayev after the one-day German Vattenfall Cyclassics in Hamburg. Tleubayev finished 12th overall behind racewinner André Greipel of Germany in a mass sprint, with teammates Armany Kamyshev in 14th and Borut Božič in 23rd.

Alexey Lutsenko attacked a peloton of more than 80 riders with 30km to the finish to try his luck at a long breakaway finish, and also to eliminate riders from the chasing peloton and create opportunities for his teammates in a sprint. With bright, sunny skies and tens of thousands of spectators along the side of the road, the peloton captured Lutsenko after a few kilometers and established a high pace before a steep climb on the finishing circuit.

Tleubayev found good cooperation with his teammates in the long road to the finish, and fought with experience to a strong Top-20 placement in a World Tour race.