The gaps remain small with three stages to go.
Belgian neo-pro Gil Gelders made a nice jump in the general classification of the Deutschland Tour, at the end of a day that didn’t roll out the red carpet for the sprinters, who had to dig deep in order to make it over the two climbs stacked in the final twelve kilometers.
The 176.3km stage one was very fast in the first part of the course, a breakaway going clear only after 90 kilometers. The trio were kept on a tight leash by the peloton and brought back just before the intense finale, where four men attacked, looking to prevent the day from concluding in a bunch sprint. Despite their best efforts, the chasers came back on the descent with just four kilometers to go and the finale belonged to the fast men, GC leader Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) emerging victorious.
Czech Tour stage winner Luke Lamperti was the first Soudal Quick-Step rider home, close to the top ten, while teammate Gil Gelders – best young rider in Slovakia at the end of June – is now tenth overall, just five seconds from the podium, ahead of Friday’s hilly stage to Schwäbisch Gmünd.
Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images
Gil Gelders 