McEwen wins in Hamburg
Silence-Lotto’s Robbie McEwen advanced Australia fair by winning the 213.7km Cyclassics ProTour event ahead of compatriots Mark Renshaw and Allan Davis as the green and gold ruled in Hamburg, Germany, on Sunday. The day after Germany's Linus Gerdemann (Gerolsteiner) won the Tour of Germany, Silence Lotto's McEwen stole the show from the local professional riders as Australian riders did a 1-2-3 in Hamburg to win the 13th edition of the Cyclassics event.
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By Agence France Presse
Silence-Lotto’s Robbie McEwen advanced Australia fair by winning the 213.7km Cyclassics ProTour event ahead of compatriots Mark Renshaw and Allan Davis as the green and gold ruled in Hamburg, Germany, on Sunday.
The day after Germany’s Linus Gerdemann (Gerolsteiner) won the Tour of Germany, Silence Lotto’s McEwen stole the show from the local professional riders as Australian riders did a 1-2-3 in Hamburg to win the 13th edition of the Cyclassics event.
The 36-year-old, nicknamed the Pocket Rocket, won in a time of 4hr 37min 46sec while pre-race favorite Gerald Ciolek (Columbia) missed out in the blanket finish as Fabian Wegmann was the first German home back in tenth.
“I had a good position going into the final straight and am very happy that it was enough in the end to pick up the victory,” said McEwen.
The Australian timed his final charge to perfection going into the last stage through Hamburg’s city center and used his strong finish to come out on top in the final sprint.
“As we came into the finish, I was in a good position, but I suddenly let myself get boxed in and couldn’t move forward anymore,” said Ciolek, the 2006 junior road world champion.
More than 150 riders had come to Hamburg straight from the conclusion of the Tour of Germany the day before in nearby Bremen and it proved to be quite a contest.
With 20km left, a 20-strong lead group looked to contain the winner. But the four-minute lead they had enjoyed was finally eroded away leaving the Australians to battle to the front and hold their nerve in the sprint for the line.