Tour of Germany: Professional cyclist Politt wants to use Merzig as a "good place"

After finishing fifth in the prologue of the 38th Tour of Germany, professional cyclist Nils Politt is confident for his home tour.

The Bora-hansgrohe pro already won the race in 2021 - two years later, he still sees a good chance of triumphing on the final day in Bremen on Sunday. "Let's see - I'm looking from day to day. Tomorrow will be the first tough stage," said Politt after the 2.3-kilometre-long second chase at the start on ARD and added: "We showed a very solid performance as a team today and as a German team, we are naturally keen to be at the front here."

In the 2.3 kilometre individual time trial on the city course in St. Wendel, Saarland, the 29-year-old from Cologne finished in fifth place with a time of 2:26.910 minutes. The first stage in Merzig covers 179 kilometres. A difficult final lap awaits with a 1.7 kilometre climb that has to be conquered twice.

This was already on the programme for the 2018 edition of the tour. "I know the arrival, I was already second there once in 2018, so it's a good place for me," said Politt and added: "It will certainly be harder for some because it goes up there twice. But I think it should be quite good for me."

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