Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop 2018 [FULL RACE]

May 01, 2018

Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop 2018 – Eschborn – Frankfurt am Main : 212,5 km

Eschborn–Frankfurt, previously Rund um den Henninger Turm Frankfurt, is an annual semi classic cycling race in Germany, starting in Eschborn and finishing in Frankfurt. The event, sometimes referred to as the Frankfurt Grand Prix, is held annually on 1 May, national Labour Day in Germany.

European champion Alexander Kristoff muscled his way to a repeat victory in the Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt on Tuesday. The UAE Team Emirates rider out-paced Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) and Oliver Naesen (AG2R La Mondiale) in the sprint finish.

Kristoff benefitted from a premature effort by Quick-Step Floors’ Fernando Gaviria, who appeared to misjudge the final turn.

“I was lucky because Gaviria went wrong in the last corner,” Kristoff said. “He had a small gap so it would have been hard to close. Luck was on my side and in the end, I managed to take it so I’m really happy.”

The Eschborn-Frankfurt was given a makeover for its 2018 edition, with a hillier route designed to give the non-sprinters more of a chance of victory.

The remaining riders from a breakaway that went clear on the penultimate climb were only reeled in with 3km to go, and the strain of the 211km race showed on Kristoff’s face as the peloton worked to bring the leaders back.

“I did not really feel strong,” Kristoff admitted. “On the second lap I was dropped, but luckily I managed to recover and got better. The last two times I felt better and managed to stay in the group.”

It’s Kristoff’s fourth straight victory in the race.

How it unfolded

Beautiful sunshine greeted the riders as they headed out of Eschborn for 211km of racing. The first point of interest came in Bad Homburg for a sprint after 31km before the race headed into the hills. The first climb, the Feldberg (12.6km, averaging 4.7 per cent) came 52km into the race.

The day’s early breakaway included Aleksejs Saramotins (Bora-Hansgrohe), Floris Gerts (Roompot), Daniel Teklehaimanot (Cofidis), Antoine Warnier (WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect), Aaron Gate (Aqua Blue Sport), Yukiya Arashiro (Bahrain-Merida), and David Tanner (Veranda’s Willems-Crelan), and they were given a lead of a few minutes as the peloton saved its forces over the lumpy long loop.

The course traversed several testing ascents on the loop. The 1.3km Ruppertshain, averaging 8.5 per cent, was a particular leg breaker and, together with the 3km Mammolshain (6.7 per cent), punished the peloton three times. The 3.1km Billtalhohe (6.1 per cent) was tackled twice, with an additional trip over the Mammolshain thrown in before the flat run-in to Frankfurt.

By the time the leaders reached the Ruppertshain with 79km to go, the peloton was within half a minute, and three riders leapt clear to bridge across to the group; Michael Gogl (Trek-Segafredo), Gregor Muhlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Bjorg Lambrecht (Lotto Soudal) made the breakaway 10-strong, but soon Teklehaimanot was left behind.

The remaining group of nine shattered over the Mammolshain, with Gogl, Lambrecht, and Muhlberger leaving the rest behind as the peloton kept them at arm’s length, just 20 seconds ahead.

With 50km to go, Arashiro was put back to work chasing the trio for teammate Grega Bole from a front peloton that split over the Mammolshain. Also in the group were Nils Politt and Simon Spilak (Katusha-Alpecin), Laurens De Plus (Quick-Step Floors), Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), and Julien Bernard (Trek-Segafredo). The group soon reeled in the trio ahead, while the peloton was shedding sprinters behind the pace of Team Sunweb, 45 seconds behind.

On the final ascent of the Mammolshain, the last climb of the race, the peloton was closing in, 35 seconds in arrears as the breakaway began to lose the early attackers. Arashiro was first to go, followed by Politt, leaving eight riders in the lead.

Behind, attacks flew on the climb from Michael Matthews (Sunweb) and Dimension Data’s Merhawi Kudus, and they were joined over the top by a CCC’s Jan Tratnik, Pieter Weening (Roompot), Marco Canola (Nippo-Vini Fantini) and Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin).

This second group slowly clawed its way up to the leaders, sitting midway between the reduced peloton and the head of the race at 20 seconds with 33 largely flat kilometres to go. Riding in his first race since being hit by a car in South Africa and fracturing his pelvis and sacrum, De Plus mostly tail-gunned the leading group while the rest kept a steady rotation, holding off the Matthews group.

With 25km to go, the eight leaders enjoyed a 53-second lead over the chasers and it looked as if the new formula had indeed turned the race on its head. Soon the chasers threw in the towel and were picked up by the peloton, led by UAE Team Emirates for Kristoff, Quick-Step Floors, and CCC Sprandi Polkowice, who were left with a gap of 1:20 to make up over the final 20km.

Quick-Step, knowing that De Plus was out-powered in the lead group, started to pour on the power in the chase, and slashed the advantage of the leaders to just 35 seconds as they wound through Frankfurt with 17km to go. With the peloton bearing down, there was an attack with 10.7km to go from Bernard, with Spilak and Bole latching on. Buchmann and Lambrecht fought to rejoin the leaders but only the Bora-Hansgrohe rider made it across. Now only four-strong, the lead group held a lead of 15 seconds on the peloton with 8km to go. With four to go, the gap was down to five seconds.

However, the Quick-Step Floors team had the quartet in its sights as they led the peloton through the finishing chute with 6km to go, but let the four leaders dangle, finally sweeping past with 3km to go. UAE Team Emirates sent Aleksandr Riabushenko off the front with 2.5km to go in an attempt to foil the script. Several counter-attacks followed, but the sprint was inevitable.

Quick-Step looked to have the lead-out in its hand, and Gaviria looked to have stolen a march on his rivals, only to misjudge the final bend and bash his handlebars in frustration. In the long subsequent drag to the line, Oliver Naesen (AG2R La Mondiale) opened up the sprint, but Kristoff mowed him down, holding off Matthews to take a repeat win.

Results :
1 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 5:13:24
2 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb
3 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
4 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
5 Sean De Bie (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
6 Grega Bole (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
7 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe
8 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data
9 Jan Tratnik (Slo) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
10 Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini
11 Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
12 Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
13 Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
14 Remy Mertz (Bel) Lotto Soudal
15 Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
16 Dion Smith (NZl) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
17 Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
18 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
19 Casper Pedersen (Den) Aqua Blue Sport
20 Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
21 Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:07
22 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
23 Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
24 Aleksandr Riabushenko (Blr) UAE Team Emirates
25 Fernando Gaviria (Col) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:10
26 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:18
27 Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha-Alpecin 0:00:28
28 Kevin Deltombe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:00:44
29 Marco Canola (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini
30 Julien Mortier (Bel) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
31 Oscar Riesebeek (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij
32 Bjorg Lambrecht (Bel) Lotto Soudal
33 Franck Bonnamour (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic
34 Huub Duijn (Ned) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
35 Artem Nych (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
36 James Shaw (GBr) Lotto Soudal
37 Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:49
38 Michael Gogl (Aut) Trek-Segafredo
39 Dimitri Claeys (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
40 Marco Tizza (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini
41 Patryk Stosz (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 0:01:12
42 Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
43 Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Eri) Dimension Data 0:01:26
44 Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Aqua Blue Sport 0:01:37
45 Dmitriy Kozontchuk (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
46 Dimitri Peyskens (Bel) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
47 Tim Declercq (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
48 Merhawi Kudus (Eri) Dimension Data
49 Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
50 Davide Martinelli (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
51 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data
52 Amaro Antunes (Por) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
53 Jérôme Baugnies (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
54 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Katusha-Alpecin
55 Ildar Arslanov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
56 Sergey Firsanov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
57 Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) Dimension Data
58 Jonas Koch (Ger) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 0:01:43
59 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bahrain-Merida
60 Florian Vachon (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic
61 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
62 Nicola Conci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
63 Laurens De Plus (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
64 Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
65 Frederik Backaert (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert 0:03:33
66 Benjamin Declercq (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:03:52
67 Sindre Skjøstad Lunke (Nor) Fortuneo-Samsic 0:04:11
68 Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
69 Aaron Gate (NZl) Aqua Blue Sport
70 Amael Moinard (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic
71 Matteo Bono (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Filippo Ganna (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Rick Zabel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Steff Cras (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Marcel Kittel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Marco Mathis (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Moreno Hofland (Ned) Lotto Soudal
DNF Lawrence Naesen (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Enzo Wouters (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Team Sunweb
DNF Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Sunweb
DNF Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Sunweb
DNF Jai Hindley (Aus) Team Sunweb
DNF Edward Theuns (Bel) Team Sunweb
DNF Max Walscheid (Ger) Team Sunweb
DNF Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Quick-Step Floors
DNF Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Quick-Step Floors
DNF Nicolas Dougall (RSA) Dimension Data
DNF Jay Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data
DNF Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Gregory Rast (Swi) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Gregory Daniel (USA) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Alex Frame (NZl) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Eduard Michael Grosu (Rom) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini
DNF Sho Hatsuyama (Jpn) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini
DNF Marino Kobayashi (Jpn) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini
DNF Alan Marangoni (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini
DNF Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Rudy Barbier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
DNF Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
DNF Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida
DNF Meiyin Wang (Chn) Bahrain-Merida
DNF Pieter Weening (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij
DNF Tim Ariesen (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij
DNF Floris Gerts (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij
DNF Jeroen Meijers (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij
DNF Sjoerd van Ginneken (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij
DNF Brian van Goethem (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij
DNF Michel Kreder (Ned) Aqua Blue Sport
DNF Andrew Fenn (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport
DNF Peter Koning (Ned) Aqua Blue Sport
DNF Matthew Brammeier (Irl) Aqua Blue Sport
DNF Simon Antonini (Ita) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
DNF Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
DNF Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Michaël Van Staeyen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Kenneth Van Rooy (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Aaron Verwilst (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Brice Feillu (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic
DNF Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic
DNF Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic
DNF Justin Jules (Fra) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
DNF Thomas Deruette (Bel) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
DNF Alex Kirsch (Lux) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
DNF Lukas Spengler (Swi) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
DNF Antoine Warnier (Bel) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
DNF Marko Kump (Slo) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
DNF Michal Paluta (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
DNF Dries De Bondt (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
DNF Arjen Livyns (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
DNF Stijn Steels (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
DNF David Tanner (Aus) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
DNF Zico Waeytens (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
DNF Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
DNF Igor Boev (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo