A day over some rolling German hills saw for fast and aggressive racing, as Team Picnic PostNL line-up with a mixed squad made up from riders of their Men and Development programs. It was steady at the start, but over the hills several attacks thinned down the bunch and eventually a reduced peloton of around 40 headed towards the finish. Some good riding by Bjorn Koerdt and Juan Martinez saw the team represented in any dangerous counter attacks late on, but things ultimately came down to a sprint finish. The climbing duo did their best to bring fast finisher Pavel Bittner into position, but it was a hectic finale and Bittner came around the last corner in around 12th place. Showing some good speed and strong legs, he sprinted past several riders to claim seventh place on the day.
Bittner said: “We came into this race with a really young team and a mix with the Development program guys. It felt like we were riding as an experienced team though, and the guys did a good job – we made the most out of it. The racing was really hard. It was one of those days where since the morning I didn’t feel too good, but I knew that I needed to keep the moral up in the team, and in the end I felt pretty good on the bike. It was me, Bjorn and Juan going into the final; and we tried to do the best possible lead-out. The guys did a good job, but I didn’t tell them to go really in the front for the last corner and a guy in front of me went a bit slower. I had a really strong sprint and was coming back from behind but I was too far. After a rest period it’s a really nice result but for sure if you have a chance like this then you always want to do a better result. It’s a good start to the second part of the season so I’m quite happy.”