Smaller races have always felt the pinches first when sponsor money got tight and the Brandenburg-Rundfahrt was no exception. But after a three-year hiatus it is finally back in business. It was a tough struggle to get the 2007 event going, but thanks to the efforts of Gerd Müller (not related to the former football player) and Walter Röseler the event started yesterday, despite showing up on the UCI calendar as canceled.
100 under-23 riders took the start in Prenzlau to tackle the first 143.5 kilometres, with Sebastian Forke from the Continental Milram team winning the stage. The four-day event has five stages and also features a 12-kilometre time trial today with a split stage. The second stage gets underway at 10:00 local time and covers 115.3 kilometres, while the stage three time trial is scheduled to start at 17:00.
