Nicola Boem took his first professional victory when he won today's final stage of the Tour of Denmark in a sprint from a 14-rider group. Having looked at this rivals in the finale, he realized that they were all tired and decided to wait for the final sprint.

All was set for a traditional bunch sprint in the final stage of the Tour of Denmark but the stage panned out completely differently. Strong crosswinds and lots of attacks made it a race of attrition that allowed a 14-rider group to stay clear to the finish.

One of the big winners was Nicola Boem who took a surprise victory by winning the sprint from the group. The win was his first as a professional and he was overjoyed to have opened his account when it was least expected.

"It’s hard to believe what happened," he said. "I’m really happy with this victory, the first as a pro is forever and I’ll never forget it. The last laps were crazy, we had the peloton behind that tried to catch us and Bak with Quaade to catch after they had attacked.

"When we closed the gap to the Danish riders, I checked the faces of the the other escapees and I understood that I had a chance in the sprint. Laps after laps I studied the finishing straight and how to manage the last km. When I started my sprint, someone tried to pass me but I had enough energy to up the speed till the finish line and win convincingly."

"Nicola was super today and in the last decisive kilometers he didn’t make any mistakes, winning the sprint in the perfect way," sports director Mirko Rossato said. "He’s a great guy that always work hard for the team and today he deserved this victory.

"Already yesterday after the evening time trial I talked to the riders and asked them to believe in our chance for today's stage and I am proud that they have heard my words. We knew that the final circuit in the city was not easy for the peloton and it proved to be true.

"In the break there were a lot of strong rouleurs - of course one was Nicola - that always set a really fast pace. Boem was smart to wait till the sprint, non attacking in the earlier kilometers and when they arrived on the finishing straight he left all of his power on the road to conquer the stage."