Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop 2017 [FULL RACE]

May 01, 2017

Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop 2017 – Eschborn – Frankfurt : 215,7 km

The 2017 Eschborn-Frankfurt – Rund um den Finanzplatz was a road cycling one-day race that took place, as customary on Tag der Arbeit (English: Labour Day), 1 May. It was the 56th edition (55th to be held) of the Eschborn-Frankfurt – Rund um den Finanzplatz and the twentieth event of the 2017 UCI World Tour. It was the race’s first appearance on the World Tour calendar.

Alexander Kristoff powered to his third career Eschborn-Frankfurt victory Monday, led out so well in the finishing sprint that his Katusha-Alpecin teammate Rick Zabel claimed a convincing second. Trek-Segafredo’s John Degenkolb rounded out the podium in third.

It was left to a much-reduced peloton to contest the finale on a cold, wet day in Germany. A number of aggressors tried to deny the surviving sprinters their shot at the win with attempted escapes in the last 30 kilometres, but none managed to stay clear, setting up a sprint on rain-slicked urban roads.

Katusha led the race into the last few hundred metres and Zabel and defending champion Kristoff even managed to put a gap of several bike lengths into those behind as they wound up to speed. Kristoff pulled in front as the line approached to take a commanding WorldTour win.

“I was a little bit dropped on the last climb but I had a strong team around me to pull me back,” Kristoff said. “Without them I would have had no chance. We came back just before the laps and Rick was guiding me through the corners at the end and he did a perfect lead out for me and ended up second himself. Luckily he was my teammate in those last few k’s because otherwise I think he would have won the race!

“Earlier Tony Martin and Angel Vicioso and also team Bora Hansgrohe were working with us. Then at the end Nils Politt and Zabel took over. It was a big team effort to get back on the front that enabled me to sprint for the victory. We are really happy and it was a great performance,” said Kristoff.

An eight-man break formed over the lumpy early goings of the day as the race took on a succession of climbs on the outskirts of Frankfurt. Peter Koning (Aqua Blue Sport), Antoine Warnier (WB Veranclassic Aqua Project), Carl Soballa (Germany), Jens Wallays (Sport-Vlaanderen Baloise), Twan Castelijns (LottoNL-Jumbo), Brian van Goethem (Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij), Dries De Bondt (Vérandas Willems-Crelan) and Nikolay Trusov (Gazprom-Rusvelo) comprised the move, whose advantage topped out at around five and a half minutes before the pack began shortening the leash.

Nasty weather saw the likes of Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), André Greipel (Lotto Soudal) and Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors) all pull out of the race before the racing really heated up.

The early break was caught with some 45 kilometres left to go. The regrouping spurred multiple attempts to form a new, stable escape, but none succeeded in opening a significant gap for more than a few minutes.

A strong selection of just under 20 riders – including Degenkolb – led the race into the final 30 kilometres but a peloton live to danger was sure not to give them too much breathing room. They were rejoined by the chasing pack 15 kilometres later.

Van Goethem and Pim Ligthart (Roompot-Nederlandse lotterij) made a last-ditch attempt to escape in the finale but were brought to heel to set up a sprint, where Katusha-Alpecin delivered Kristoff to perfection and a dominant victory.

Results :
1 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin 5:29:32
2 Rick Zabel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
3 John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo
4 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team
5 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
6 Juan Jose Lobato (Spa) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
7 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
8 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Quick-Step Floors
9 Michel Kreder (Ned) Aqua Blue Sport
10 Ben Swift (GBr) UAE Team Emirates
11 Tom Bohli (Swi) BMC Racing Team
12 Alex Kirsch (Lux) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
13 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) BMC Racing Team
14 Rudy Barbier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
15 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb
16 Maciej Paterski (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
17 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Cannondale-Drapac 0:00:06
18 Oscar Riesebeek (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
19 Gaetan Bille (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
20 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Lotto Soudal
21 Evgeny Shalunov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
22 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe
23 Rúben Guerreiro (Por) Trek-Segafredo
24 Silvan Dillier (Swi) BMC Racing Team
25 Brian Van Goethem (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
26 Patrick Bevin (NZl) Cannondale-Drapac 0:00:15
27 Bram Tankink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
28 Aime De Gendt (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise 0:00:16
29 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
30 Adam James Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal 0:00:19
31 Nico Denz (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:23
32 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
33 Jan Tratnik (Slo) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 0:00:27
34 Floris De Tier (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:00:35
35 Pieter Serry (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
36 Simone Petilli (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
37 Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise
38 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
39 Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:40
40 Eliot Lietaer (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise 0:00:43
41 Thomas Scully (NZl) Cannondale-Drapac 0:00:57
42 Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin 0:01:05
43 Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:19
44 Paul Martens (Ger) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:01:25
45 Petr Vakoc (Cze) Quick-Step Floors 0:01:36
46 Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:48
47 Tony Martin (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin 0:01:50
48 Simone Ponzi (Ita) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
49 Ángel Vicioso (Spa) Katusha-Alpecin 0:02:38
50 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb
51 Aaron Gate (NZl) Aqua Blue Sport 0:03:55
52 Julien Vermote (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
53 Frederik Backaert (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
54 Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Aqua Blue Sport
55 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Sunweb
56 Peter Koning (Ned) Aqua Blue Sport
57 Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal
58 Michal Paluta (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
59 Koen De Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
60 Martin Elmiger (Swi) BMC Racing Team
61 Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise
62 Olivier Pardini (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
63 Andrei Solomennikov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
64 Branislau Samoilau (Blr) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
65 Raymond Kreder (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
66 Edward Ravasi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
67 Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise 0:04:05
DNF Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Marco Mathis (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Marcel Kittel (Ger) Quick-Step Floors
DNF Fernando Gaviria (Col) Quick-Step Floors
DNF Yves Lampaert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
DNF Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
DNF Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Erik Baska (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
DNF André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal
DNF Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal
DNF Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Enzo Wouters (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb
DNF Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Sunweb
DNF Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Sunweb
DNF Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Sunweb
DNF Zico Waeytens (Bel) Team Sunweb
DNF Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Sondre Holst Enger (Nor) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Valerio Conti (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Filippo Ganna (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Marko Kump (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Yousif Mirza Alhammadi (UAE) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Federico Zurlo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Benjamin Declercq (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise
DNF Ruben Pols (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise
DNF Jens Wallays (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise
DNF Manuel Senni (Ita) BMC Racing Team
DNF Loïc Vliegen (Bel) BMC Racing Team
DNF Raffael Freienstein
DNF Christopher Hatz
DNF Nikodemus Holler
DNF Georg Loef
DNF Christian Mager
DNF Jonas Rapp
DNF Carl Soballa
DNF Georg Zimmermann
DNF Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac
DNF Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale-Drapac
DNF Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac
DNF Ryan Mullen (Irl) Cannondale-Drapac
DNF Kenny Dehaes (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
DNF Simone Antonini (Ita) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
DNF Jérôme Baugnies (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
DNF Tom Devriendt (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
DNF Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
DNF Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
DNF Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
DNF Robert Wagner (Ger) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
DNF Twan Castelijns (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
DNF Daan Olivier (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
DNF Kevyn Ista (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
DNF Sébastien Delfosse (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
DNF Thomas Deruette (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
DNF Gregory Habeaux (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
DNF Christophe Masson (Fra) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
DNF Antoine Warnier (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
DNF Leigh Howard (Aus) Aqua Blue Sport
DNF Stefan Denifl (Aut) Aqua Blue Sport
DNF Martyn Irvine (Irl) Aqua Blue Sport
DNF Calvin Watson (Aus) Aqua Blue Sport
DNF Tim Ariesen (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
DNF Martijn Budding (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
DNF Berden De Vries (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
DNF Jens Mouris (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
DNF Stijn Devolder (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
DNF Sander Cordeel (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
DNF Dries De Bondt (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
DNF Huub Duijn (Ned) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
DNF Timothy Dupont (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
DNF Michael Goolaerts (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
DNF Otto Vergaerde (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
DNF Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
DNF Artur Ershov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
DNF Artem Nych (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
DNF Ivan Savitskiy (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
DNF Aleksei Tcatevich (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
DNF Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
DNF Adrian Kurek (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
DNF Leszek Plucinski (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice