Deutschland Tour: Politt scores points in St. Wendel - Vernon wins
DPA
· 23.08.2023
Nils Politt crossed the finish line in St. Wendel, Saarland, with a tiger's leap like in a mass sprint.
Germany Tour 2023: Nils Politt satisfied with the start
In midsummer temperatures, the German champion wanted to secure as good a cushion as possible for the rest of the Tour of Germany and a possible second overall victory in the 2.3 kilometre time trial at the start of the 38th Tour of Germany. The cycling pro from Team Bora-Hansgrohe succeeded in doing just that.
"I'm actually relatively satisfied. I haven't lost much time to the competition. I'm looking from day to day, tomorrow will be the first difficult stage," said Politt after the race for seconds.
Deutschland Tour 2023: Ethan Vernon wins prologue
With a time of 2:26.910 minutes, the native of Cologne was ultimately stopped and ended up in fifth place. The 29-year-old was 3.34 seconds down on the British winner Ethan Vernon. Second and third place went to Danish former world champion Mads Pedersen (+1.27) and Dutchman Maikel Zijlaard (2.81). Jannik Steimle was the second-best German in sixth place with a time of 2:27.21 minutes.
Vernon, who is actually a sprint specialist, will start the first stage on Thursday in the overall leader's red jersey - but is unlikely to play a major role in the battle for overall victory. However, Politt wants to do so in order to claim his second overall victory after 2018. "We want to create the best possible starting position for the upcoming stages. I think it's going to be a close story this year," said the 2021 Tour de France stage winner.
Germany Tour 2023: Froome & Yates not taking part after all
Some big names, whose participation was announced by the organisers around 14 days before the start, did not find their way to the Saarland after all. The British defending champion Adam Yates, third in this year's Tour de France, has also decided not to start, as has his compatriot Chris Froome, four-time winner of the Tour of France. There are no particular reasons for Froome's absence, as his team Israel-Premier Tech announced in response to a dpa enquiry at the start of the race.
Deutschland Tour 2023: This is what happens on stage 1
On Thursday, the top of the overall classification could have a new face. The 179 kilometres from St. Wendel to Merzig have an appealing classic character. A constant up and down, sometimes with very steep ramps, characterises the middle section of the stage in particular. The finale in Merzig features a tough finishing circuit with a climb that some of the pros already know from 2018.
After a ten-year break, the Deutschland Tour, which was relaunched in 2018, will finish in Bremen on Sunday after a total of 732 kilometres. Winterberg and Essen are the destinations of the tour beforehand.
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