Just a few days after his strong solo break that almost held off the sprinters, Jens Voigt tried again on the final day of the Bayern Rundfahrt. His unsuccessful attack in the finale ended an aggressive Trek display that also included attacks from Hayden Roulston and Gregory Rast.

It was a nine-man breakaway that animated the action for most of the final stage of the five-day Bayern Rundfahrt (Tour of Bavaria). Hayden Roulston jumped into the escape group but a reluctant peloton never let them gain more than a few minutes. When the breakaway crossed the finish line in Nürnberg for the start of 10 laps of five kilometers the catch was certain: the gap had fallen to just over a minute.

With four laps and 20 kilometers remaining the last of the breakaway was swept up opening the door for more attacks. The certain ‘Jensie’ jump came with just over 10 kilometers to go.  With one rider for company, Voigt gained half a minute’s lead before the peloton said enough, pressed the accelerator, and snatched the pair back just before the start of the final circuit.

Gregory Rast made one last stab with three kilometers to go but it was a short-lived venture.  The mass sprint unfolded and Sam Bennett (NetApp-Endura) seized the victory.  There were no changes in the overall and Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) claimed the overall win.

“Today we tried," sports director Kim Andersen said. "We raced well very well as a team. Hayden was in the break, Jens tried, then Greggy tried at the end but it was too fast. When you do not have a sprinter it is difficult. We did what we could today but it all came together for a bunch sprint.

“This race for us was a building race, but we still came to race hard.  It was difficult this year with the mountain finish and the sprints. We did not have a climber here, we did not have a sprinter, so we tried to do the best we could. In the end, we raced well as a team, we attacked, and we were present in the breakaways.”