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HEW-Cyclassics, Germany

31 July, 251K

Quick-Step 1-2 in Hamburg

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Quick-Step pulled off a 1-2 today in a wet HEW-Cyclassics in Hamburg, Germany. Filippo Pozzato edged out his fast rising teammate, Luca Paolini. Alan Davis (Liberty Seguros-Würth) showed a great sprint for third. The real upset was for Fassa Bortolo, who had four men in the final group but failed to put one on the podium.

Today's race in Hamburg marked the return to the major one-day races. The riders were greeted with cooler temperatures and occasional showers. It was quite a change from the heat-wave that Germany was experiencing in previous days.

Flash back to this year's stage 16 of the Tour de France and you might recall the day's escape group. On that day to Pau it was Jörg Ludewig who was key in helping the group stay clear to the end. Today it was again Ludewig (Domina Vacanze) who went from kilometer 20. By the first feed zone (97K) the German had up to 6 minutes in hand over a chasing duo. Leif Hoste (Discovery Channel) and André Greipel (Team Wiesenhof) were pounding the wet pavement in pursuit of the lone escape.

The chasing duo caught Ludewig with 120K to go. The more experienced Hoste and Ludewig proved too much of a match for Greipel. The German was quickly shelled, left for the peloton behind. The peloton at this point was some 11 minutes in the rear, giving the leaders a wide margin.

It was T-Mobile, Quick-Step, and Liquigas-Bianchi chasing hard behind. By the second feed zone (160K) the gap was still high, at 14". The gap came down slowly as team after team sent their riders off the front of the peloton. There was an effort to form a proper chase group to pull pack the leading duo. The German squad of Gerolsteiner was keen to lend a hand and look sharp on home soil. Wegmann and Zberg were working themselves silly for their team leader, Davide Rebellin.

The breaking point came on the penultimate climb of the Waseberg, 28K to go. The feared climb brought the tifosi out, even on the wet day. There was a commentator booth setup and all tifosi had little noise-makers. That noise propelled the power figure of Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile). Ulle was making the race on the Waseberg. He helped form a key move that weakened the peloton. This move would be instrumental in crushing the now solo figure of Hoste, 2'30" up the road. Ludewig had been gobbled up after 201K off the front and now the favorites were eyeing the Disco rider.

In the wooded foothills of Hamburg, Hoste's gap was shrinking. The Waseberg featured for the last time, at 17K to go, and it was to be the death-blow for most. There was a crash that took out Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) at the rear of the peloton. Up front it was Ulle making the pace again. Over the top a group of power-players formed. In the group were four Fassa's: Flecha, Velo, Cancellara, Bernucci. Luca Paolini and Filippo Pozzato were present, with their Quick-Step domestique, Bram Tankink. Davide Rebellin, Allan Davis, and Salvatore Commesso (Lampre-Caffita) had also snuck into the group.

This group was the winning move. Behind was the chasing group of Liquigas-Bianchi working for Danilo Di Luca. Fassa Bortolo were doing the majority of the pace-making on the wet run home, with help from Tankink for his Italian teammates. Ulle was seen on the back looking beaten from his previous efforts. On the run home the ominous young-gun, Allan Davis, looked like a winner. Davis packed a mean sprint-punch but could not match the experienced Quick-Step duo.

Filippo Pozzato took advantage of the Fassa Bortolo work. With 500 meters to the line, the Italian gunned it past a fading Cancellara. A hard-charging Luca Paolini gave his teammate the biggest threat. Paolini came with in centimeters of scoring a huge comeback win. The two were happy, smiling and embracing as they rode past the photographers. The four Fassa Bortolo riders rolled in looking rather upset. Their plan was executed properly, but without the needed firepower.

Results: 6:00'59", 42 K/h
1 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Quick-Step
2 Luca Paolini (Ita) Quick-Step
3 Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth
4 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Fassa Bortolo
5 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner
6 Martin Elmiger (Swi) Phonak
7 Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Lampre-Caffita
8 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Team CSC
9 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Fassa Bortolo
10 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Phonak
11 Serhiy Honchar (Ukr) Domina Vacanze
12 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile
13 Bram Tankink (Ned) Quick-Step
14 Lorenzo Bernucci (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
15 Marco Velo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
16 Erik Zabel (Ger) T-Mobile 0.28
17 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole
18 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quick-Step
19 Aurélien Clerc (Swi) Phonak
20 Simone Cadamuro (Ita) Domina Vacanze
21 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Caffita
22 Roger Hammond (GBr) Discovery Channel
23 Vicente Reynes (Spa) Illes Balears
24 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Cofidis
25 Peter Van Petegem (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
26 Marco Zanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi
27 Koldo Fernández (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
28 David Kopp (Ger) Team Wiesenhof
29 Constantino Zaballa (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
30 Daniel Schnider (Swi) Phonak
31 Iván Gutiérrez (Spa) Illes Balears
32 Matthew White (Aus) Cofidis
33 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner
34 Iñaki Flores (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
35 Lilian Jegou (Fra) Française Des Jeux
36 Alessandro Cortinovis (Ita) Domina Vacanze
37 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team CSC
38 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) T-Mobile
39 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC
40 Unai Yus (Spa) Bouygues Telecom
41 Manuele Mori (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir
42 Pablo Lastras (Spa) Illes Balears
43 Luca Solari (Ita) Domina Vacanze
44 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Crédit Agricole
45 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
46 Igor Astarloa (Spa) Barloworld-Valsir
47 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
48 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Fassa Bortolo
49 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel
50 Giuliano Figueras (Ita) Lampre-Caffita
51 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank
52 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi
53 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis 1.00
54 Mauro Gerosa (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi
55 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi
56 Volodymyr Bileka (Ukr) Discovery Channel 1.29
57 Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1.58
58 Allan Johansen (Den) Team CSC
59 Marcus Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 2.32
60 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Rabobank
61 Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Davitamon-Lotto
62 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Crédit Agricole
63 Christophe Kern (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
64 Roy Sentjens (Ned) Rabobank
65 Markel Irizar (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
66 Nicola Loda (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi
67 Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Ag2R Prévoyance
68 Francisco José Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
69 Gorka Verdugo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
70 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC
71 Jan Hruska (Cze) Liberty Seguros-Würth
72 Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Lampre-Caffita
73 Steffen Wesemann (Ger) T-Mobile
74 Andreas Klier (Ger) T-Mobile
75 Alexandre Usov (Blr) Ag2R Prévoyance
76 Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Phonak 7.13
77 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Rabobank
78 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth
79 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
80 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Barloworld-Valsir
81 Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre-Caffita
82 Giulio Tomi (Ita) Barloworld-Valsir
83 Fabian Jeker (Swi) Saunier Duval-Prodir
84 Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Liquigas-Bianchi
85 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
86 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Lampre-Caffita
87 Mikel Pradera (Spa) Illes Balears
88 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Illes Balears
89 Nico Mattan (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
90 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank
91 Jörg Ludewig (Ger) Domina Vacanze
92 Christophe Detilloux (Bel) Française Des Jeux
93 Pedro Horrillo (Spa) Rabobank
94 Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis
95 Rony Martias (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
96 Ian McLeod (RSA) Française Des Jeux
97 Angel Edo (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
98 José Cayetano Julià (Spa) Illes Balears
99 Marco Milesi (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi
100 Mirko Celestino (Ita) Domina Vacanze
101 Steffen Radochla (Ger) Team Wiesenhof
102 Gregory Rast (Swi) Phonak
103 Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas-Bianchi
104 Uros Murn (Slo) Phonak
105 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
106 Antonio Salomone (Ita) Barloworld-Valsir
107 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Domina Vacanze
108 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
109 Stefan Adamsson (Swe) Barloworld-Valsir 12.23
110 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Wiesenhof 13.15
111 Koen De Kort (Ned) Liberty Seguros-Würth 14.34
112 José Luis Carrasco (Spa) Illes Balears 17.54
DNF Jimmy Casper (Fra) Cofidis
DNF Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Cofidis
DNF Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Cofidis
DNF Axel Merckx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
DNF Henk Vogels (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto
DNF Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
DNF Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC
DNF Jakob Piil (Den) Team CSC
DNF Lars Michaelsen (Den) Team CSC
DNF Marco Pinotti (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir
DNF Ivan Ravaioli (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir
DNF Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
DNF Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Crédit Agricole
DNF Sébastien Joly (Fra) Crédit Agricole
DNF Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Crédit Agricole
DNF Kilian Patour (Fra) Crédit Agricole
DNF Damien Nazon (Fra) Crédit Agricole
DNF René Andrle (Cze) Liberty Seguros-Würth
DNF Carlos Barredo (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth
DNF Sergio Paulinho (Por) Liberty Seguros-Würth
DNF Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Discovery Channel
DNF Antonio Cruz (USA) Discovery Channel
DNF Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Discovery Channel
DNF Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Discovery Channel
DNF Guennadi Mikhailov (Rus) Discovery Channel
DNF André Korff (Ger) T-Mobile
DNF Stephan Schreck (Ger) T-Mobile
DNF Thomas Ziegler (Ger) Gerolsteiner
DNF Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step
DNF Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quick-Step
DNF Joan Horrach (Spa) Illes Balears
DNF Giosuè Bonomi (Ita) Lampre-Caffita
DNF Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
DNF Yohann Gene (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
DNF Anthony Ravard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
DNF Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Domina Vacanze
DNF Baden Cooke (Aus) Française Des Jeux
DNF Fabien Sanchez (Fra) Française Des Jeux
DNF Christophe Mengin (Fra) Française Des Jeux
DNF Anton Luengo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Aketza Peña (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Enrico Degano (Ita) Barloworld-Valsir
DNF Sean Sullivan (Aus) Barloworld-Valsir
DNF Andy Flickinger (Fra) Ag2R Prévoyance
DNF Laurent Mangel (Fra) Ag2R Prévoyance
DNF Erki Pütsep (Est) Ag2R Prévoyance
DNF Christophe Riblon (Fra) Ag2R Prévoyance
DNF Mark Scanlon (Irl) Ag2R Prévoyance
DNF André Greipel (Ger) Team Wiesenhof
DNF Jens Heppner (Ger) Team Wiesenhof
DNF Roberto Lochowski (Ger) Team Wiesenhof
DNF Björn Schröder (Ger) Team Wiesenhof

Climbs
1 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel 9
2 Jörg Ludewig (Ger) Domina Vacanze 6
3 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile 1
4 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Fassa Bortolo 1

Sprints
1 Jörg Ludewig (Ger) Domina Vacanze 8
2 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel 5
3 André Greipel (Ger) Team Wiesenhof 5
4 Giulio Tomi (Ita) Barloworld-Valsir 4
5 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick-Step 1
6 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole 1