For the second day in a row, one of our riders featured in the fight for victory.
Running between Weimar and Meiningen, stage 1 of the Deutschland Tour wasn’t as straightforward as many of the sprinters hoped it would be at the beginning of the day, the presence of a climb just twenty kilometers from the finish altering the dynamic of the race.
A series of stinging attacks launched there, despite not being successful, were enough to drop some of the sprinters, including European Champion Fabio Jakobsen, who lost contact once the gradient began to bite. Despite this, Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl was still represented in the finale, French Champion Florian Sénéchal sprinting to fifth place and racking up his ninth top 10 of the season.
“I had good legs and felt comfortable in the peloton, despite the speed being high during the entire stage. But it was difficult to be well-positioned in what was a very hectic final kilometer and couldn’t do better than fifth after finding myself unable to find an opening at 600 meters to go. On the other hand, I am content with the form I have and this gives me confidence for the next stages”, Florian explained after the stage.
Photo credit: ©Stuart Franklin / Getty Images
