André Greipel has finished on the podium in the Vattenfall Cyclassics thrice but this year he goes into the race with lots of uncertainty. Having been forced out of the Eneco Tour due to illness, the Lotto leader doesn't regard himself as a favourite.

Tomorrow the nineteenth edition of the Vattenfall Cyclassics Hamburg takes place, a WorldTour race. German champion André Greipel, who had to abandon the Eneco Tour in stage four because of a throat infection, will start in his home country. The Lotto Belisol rider became second last year behind his fellow countryman John Degenkolb. Also in 2012 he finished on that place, then it was Arnaud Démare who won. In 2010 Greipel stood on the podium as well, as third.
 
The course is 247.2 kilometers long. After over 150 kilometers there’s a first passage at the finish. In the meantime the riders will have covered the Waseberg for the first of four times. It’s a climb of 800 meters with an average gradient of 8.8%, who traditionally is part of the race in Hamburg. There’s a maximal gradient of 15%. The last ascent of the Waseberg is at 15.5 kilometers from the finish. That’s a sufficient distance for the sprinters to get organized.

Fast men on the start list this year are among other Mark Cavendish, Bryan Coquard, Simon Gerrans, Marcel Kittel, Alexander Kristoff, Sacha Modolo and Giacomo Nizzolo. With Tyler Farrar (2009 and 2010), Edvald Boasson Hagen (2011) and Arnaud Démare (2012) three former winners stand at the start.
 
“My health won’t be a problem, maybe the condition isn’t optimal after I had to abandon the Eneco Tour," Greipel said. "From Monday on I was back on the bike. If you have been ill you can’t train like you normally do. What you lost in the race, you cannot get back. I can’t change the fact that I’ve been ill. I did everything I could this week during my training sessions.”
 
“Normally the race suits me, but after my illness I don’t know where I stand. I’m not one of the favourites for Sunday. Rain and wind are forecasted. I never did this race in the rain, I don’t know what to expect with that extra factor. Then the Waseberg is always a crucial point on the course. It’s important to have a one-day race like Hamburg in the WorldTour, where the sprinters have an opportunity to win.”
 
Selection Lotto Belisol: 

Lars Bak, Stig Broeckx, Gert Dockx, André Greipel, Jürgen Roelandts, Marcel Sieberg, Boris Vallée and Jonas Van Genechten.