Austrian rider Gregor Mühlberger (BORA – hansgrohe) has taken the biggest win of his career today after making a late move to cross the line first at the prestigious German one-day race – Rund um Köln (UCI 1.1). After being part of today´s breakaway group, Mühlberger made his final move shortly before the finish and held of a chasing group to take the well-deserved victory.
The race covered more than 200 kilometres around Köln and the parcours included a number of climbs. After some attempts to build a breakaway, a group of about 40 riders went up the road.
At the 90-kilometre mark, the situation of the race changed completely, with the lead group falling apart before two riders went clear again. BORA – hansgrohe rider Gregor Mühlberger was in the chasing group with 9 riders. After a tough pursuit, the chasing group was able to catch the escapees in the front.
In the last hour of racing the race went on fire, with numerous attacks from the lead group. One of the most active riders was Mühlberger, who tried several times to distance himself from the front group. Shortly before the finish he tried it again and was able to build a small gap over his opponents and he held on to take the win.
Gregor Mühlberger – “I am so happy with this victory. I tried it many times to build a gap and in the finale kilometres I was able to distance myself from the group and finished first. It´s really great and I am very happy. I also want to thank my teammates for today´s great support.”
Jens Zemke (BORA – hansgrohe Directeur Sportif) – “We dominated the race right from the start. The boys and especially Gregor showed a strong performance today. he deserved the victory today, after being in the several breakaway groups and all the attacks in the finale. Two days ago, I said to him, after your great efforts during the Giro d´Italia, that’s your day today, and he did it. I am very proud!”
