"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.
23.04 - 27.04: CAC Nile Tour |
27.04: Liberazione Juniores |
27.04: E3 Saxo Classic |
27.04: Leiedal Koerse |
27.04: Ceratizit Festival Elsy Jacobs |
21.04 - 28.04: Presidential Cycling Tour of T... |
23.04 - 28.04: Tour de Romandie |
24.04 - 28.04: Tour of the Gila |
24.04 - 28.04: Tour of the Gila Women |
25.04 - 28.04: Gracia |
Matthew HOWE 37 years | today |
Gloria MANZONI 26 years | today |
Manuel HILLEBRAND 40 years | today |
Michael REIHS 45 years | today |
Alejandro VALVERDE 44 years | today |
© CyclingQuotes.com