After former world champion Mads Pedersen had shown his class, veteran Simon Geschke made his decision. “He’s in great shape. For me he’s also the favorite in the overall ranking,” enthused the former Tour de France stage winner on ARD. Pedersen had previously won the second stage of the Deutschland Tour in outstanding fashion and also taken the overall lead. The German cycling pros, meanwhile, must continue to wait for a home victory.
The Danish classic specialist Pedersen took the initiative on the last climb shortly before the finish of the second stage over 174.6 kilometers from Heilbronn to Schwäbisch Gmünd, and then sprinted from the front to victory in the finale. The Norwegian Tobias Johannessen and the Irishman Archie Ryan took second and third place. The best German was Jonas Rutsch in seventh place.
This means that the German riders are still waiting for a win in the only domestic professional tour. Three years ago, Nils Politt secured the last German success with his overall victory.
Pedersen replaces teammate Milan
Pedersen also replaced Lidl-Trek teammate Jonathan Milan at the top of the overall rankings. For the Italian, who had won both the prologue and the first stage, the undulating terrain was too difficult as a sprinter. Rutsch, however, did not want to speak of a preliminary decision: “It will be difficult for him in the overall rankings. There are still a few mountains to come.”
But Pedersen is a force to be reckoned with in such conditions. He has already proven this in much bigger races, such as his 2019 World Championship triumph in Harrogate or his two stage wins in the Tour de France.
Many fans along the track
In perfect cycling weather, many fans came to the track again. Above all in the hope that veteran star Geschke or Giro stage winner Georg Steinhauser might pull off a German coup. “I’m enjoying it. This time next year I’ll miss it,” said Geschke, who is ending his career this year.
But the protagonists were different. When the race entered its critical phase a good 44 kilometers from the finish, the German participants were nowhere to be seen. A group of four around the Latvian veteran Tom Skujins had broken away on the climb to Lauterburg and gained around 30 seconds. On the next climb, the decisive group formed, in which Pedersen was the strongest.
The toughest part of this year’s D-Tour awaits the professional cyclists on Saturday, when they will travel 211.1 kilometers from Schwäbisch Gmünd to Villingen-Schwenningen. On the third section, they will have to overcome around 3,000 meters of elevation through the Black Forest. The Germany Tour ends on Sunday in Saarbrücken.