Martin Reimer from LKT Team Brandenburg is the new German U23 Champion, winning the title race in Lorsch. Reimer, who will turn 21 next Sunday, scored the victory on a very difficult 181.6-kilometre course in 4h55'07". He took the sprint of a four-man lead group, beating Sebastian Hans (Team Mapei Heizomat), Mitja Schlüter (Continental Team Milram) and Dennis Pohl (Team 3C Gruppe).
In the penultimate lap a lead group around defending champion Dominic Klemme, along with favourites like Kim Lachmann, Paul Voß, John Degenkolb and Simon Geschke, couldn't quite agree on taking turns, so they were caught. On the final way back to Lorsch, the decisive group went clear.
National coach Patrick Moster explained, "After that, it was immediately quiet in the peloton. Thüringer Energie didn't have to ride anymore, 3C neither, so behind they stopped pedaling."
500 metres from the finish, Hans started the sprint, but Reimer came around him. "That was incredible," Reimer said at the finish.
Moster added that Reimer deserved to win. "We saw a fascinating race; it was a tough parcours... Somebody who can't put some power on the pedals can't be on the podium here." Moster did admit that he hadn't considered Reimer amongst the favourites before the race. "Maybe with Reimer we didn't see a winner from the first string, but he also wasn't a complete underdog."
The day was marked by very hot temperatures and early attacks. But only in the last three laps of the 17-kilometre circuit did the race start in earnest. One of the strongest riders was Voß. "He was super-strong today," Moster noticed. The 3C-rider ended the day in fifth place. Last year's winner Klemme was eight in the end.
