The German mineral water team was happy with the outcome of this past week-end of racing in Italy and in France. After scoring at the Giro dell'Emilia, won by Davide Rebellin, Gerolsteiner showed itself again at the Gran Premio Beghelli: Fabian Wegmann tried his best to get away on Sunday, joining an escape group with stagiaire teammate Johannes Fröhlinger, and later attacking on the penultimate lap. Teammate Andrea Moletta also tried an attack, but none of them were successful, and the race came down to a mass sprint. Moletta ended up as the best Gerolsteiner finisher, in 18th place.
Directeur Sportif Christian Wegmann had praise not only for Fröhlinger ("He rode very well"), but also for the others. "It's too bad, the guys were strong today and came out in the breaks. But unfortunately it didn't work out."
At the same time, in France at Paris-Tours, Gerolsteiner finished the race with only three riders - but was very satisfied with that result, especially as Frank Hoj finished seventh. "We achieved a top ranking and got lots of points in the ProTour team ranking, and that's more than many other teams did here today" said directeur sportif Christian Henn. Breakaways and the wind tore the peloton apart, with only 67 riders making it to the end.
Most of the other riders, including the favourites, dropped out at the feed zone. "The field was already 10 minutes back at that point. There was no way to make that time up," Henn explained. Hoj, Thomas Fothen and Peter Wrolich represented their team in the remainder of the race. "Peter set himself well in the scene. Frank showed a strong performance, and Thomas rode well, too," concluded Henn.
Courtesy of Susan Westemeyer
