This Sunday, Jonas Koch and Georg Zimmermann defended the colors of Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux in the fight to become German road racing champion. The race exploded 90 kilometers from the finish on the difficult circuit in Stuttgart. Against the Bora team, in overwhelming numerical superiority, Koch and Zimmermann admirably held their own and respectively clinched second and third places at the end of the 185 kilometers. Koch and Schachmann (Bora) broke away on the last lap, before the latter struck the decisive blow on the last climb. Zimmermann, impressive all day, then beat Burghardt and Politt to accompany his teammate to the podium.
I was three against one shortly after halfway point. Niels Politt then dropped and I found myself in front alongside Schachmann and Buchmann, the two best German climbers in the peloton. Our cooperation was good until they started attacking me 4 laps from the end. It was therefore no longer essential that I take my turns because the trust between us was broken. This allowed Jonas Koch and two other Bora to catch us. When Schachmann and Jonas went, I was fine with it because Jonas is an excellent sprinter. In the end, we finish two and three. I don't regret anything because it was arguably my best race this season, and the best result I could hope for. Neither Schachmann nor Buchmann managed to drop me in the climbs and that motivates me a lot for the next races.
