”I surely hoped for more, but I did not have the legs to make the difference on the last hill. Luckily, everything came together in the last kilometer. I tried to position for the sprint, but I got boxed in a few times, so this result was the highest possible today,” Van Aert said after crossing the line.

A few hours before, the race had started at a furious pace across the North German flatlands, where four riders established the day’s breakaway. The peloton then settled down, but Team Visma | Lease a Bike riders were already grouped near the front when the race hit its key feature, the steep Waseberg climb, for the first time.

The classic climb had to be tackled five times this year, including twice in the final thirty kilometers. The first three ascents gradually reduced the peloton, with Team Visma | Lease a Bike still well represented, but even several hard attacks on the last two ascents could not create the decisive split. Instead, it was a heavily reduced peloton that had to chase the early breakaway in the final ten kilometers. One of the breakaway riders, Rory Townsend, managed to stay just ahead of the bunch, while Van Aert sprinted to tenth place.

”It’s a pity we didn’t get that top result, because we deliverd a strong performance as a team. I didn’t expect to be racing here this weekend, so it’s no shame the top shape is not there yet. I’m looking forward to the coming races,” Van Aert concluded.

Grischa Niermann, Head of Racing, added his thoughts on the day in Hamburg.

“Wout was only called up at the very last moment, but he rode really well and finished in the first group, even with a tough Tour de France still in his legs.”

Niermann also noted that Christophe Laporte managed to hold on for quite a while, even though the former European champion was racing for the first time in more than 300 days. 

“Christophe was doing his first race in a long time, so it’s perfectly normal that he didn’t have a super feeling yet. Overall, the boys rode a good race.”