Cyclassics: Haller steals the show from superstar van Aert
DPA
· 21.08.2022
Marco Haller threw his arms up in the air, roared his delight and cheered with team-mate Nils Politt at a coup he had hardly thought possible.
Surprise winner Haller at Cyclassics
The Austrian from the German Bora-hansgrohe team stole the show from the big favourite Wout van Aert and surprisingly won the 25th edition of the Hamburg Cyclassics. Haller won in the sprint of a five-man lead group after 204.7 kilometres ahead of van Aert and his compatriot Quinten Hermans, succeeding the Italian Elia Viviani, who had triumphed three times in the Hanseatic city from 2017 to 2019 before the race was cancelled twice during the coronavirus pandemic.
The German riders played no part in the decision on the Mönckebergstraße in the WorldTour race with its prominent riders. The best German was Phil Bauhaus, ten seconds back in seventh place, while Max Kanter finished ninth. Sprinter André Greipel was responsible for the last home win in 2015.
First victory for Bora in Hamburg
After all, the Bora team was able to celebrate in the Hanseatic city for the first time. "A dream come true," said Haller: "Beating Wout van Aert is one thing, but having good legs after over 200 kilometres makes me very proud. I only believed I could beat Wout one metre before the finish." The Belgian hadn't expected that: "Marco surprised me. That was a bit disappointing."
Haller's team-mate Politt was also over the moon. "A super nice day. A very emotional victory for me too. Winning in Hamburg is a really big thing. We weren't the favourites, we didn't have a sprinter with us. That's why we had to make the race difficult," said the German champion.
Preliminary decision on the Waserberg
This time, the decision was not made in a bunch sprint, which was mainly down to van Aert. The three-time Tour stage winner and winner of the green jersey showed his class on the third crossing of the 15 per cent steep and 800 metre long Waseberg. As with his venomous attacks in the Tour, the Belgian quickly ensured a further selection of the peloton. The first one had already been caused by a heavy crash a good 30 kilometres before the finish, when several riders fell. This also set back sprint star and European champion Fabio Jakobsen.
The Bora team, the only German WorldTour team in the field, played a good role even without a real sprinter. Haller and Patrick Konrad had latched onto van Aert's rear wheel and cleverly played their cards in the finale. Politt no longer had the legs to keep up on the final climb.
Buchmann starts at Tour of Germany
After all, it was a good warm-up for Politt for the Tour of Germany, which he won last year and starts on Wednesday. He is also likely to meet his German compatriot Emanuel Buchmann again there, who, following his cancellation due to illness at the Vuelta is now due to start in the race at home.
"He prepared really well for the Vuelta, with altitude training. If it works somehow and he is healthy, we would like to use it for the Tour of Germany," sports director Rolf Aldag told the German Press Agency.
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