The Irishman Sam Bennett gave the Raublinger ProConti racing team NetApp-Endura a home win at Rund um Köln. In the mass sprint he prevailed in front of Dutchman Barry Markus (Belkin) and local hero Gerald Ciolek (MTN-Qhubeka). It was the second win of the season for the 23-year-old. Alexander Krieger from Team Stuttgart took sixth place.
“It was an offensive, fast race in which we drove at top speed right from the start. We were always in the picture and at the forefront”, commented André Schulze, sports director of the NetApp-Endura team, on the overall team performance.
The start of the race was very hectic in rainy conditions. After just a few kilometers, a fall split the field. In the course of the race, a top trio formed, which was able to pull away by up to two minutes. Thanks to the pursuers speeding up on the last two climbs, all breakaways were caught 35 kilometers from the finish. In the final, a trio pulled away again to go into the final rounds with a certain lead. However, the tracking work of the favorite teams ensured that the field was complete again five kilometers before the finish and the race was decided in a mass sprint.