"I am absolutely overwhelmed and am simply enjoying the moment," said Gerolsteiner's Matthias Russ, who won the second stage of the Rothaus Regio Tour and took over the leader's jersey.
"It is really great feeling to have my first pro victory as only a 22-year-old rider," he said. He beat no less a rider than Andreas Klöden, third in this year's Tour de France, outsprinting him by 4 seconds.
The two took off out of the leading group and "worked well together" for about 5 km. About 500 km before the finish, Russ pulled away and rode over the finish line with his arms held high in celebration. "That was a very important win for me, and to do it against one of the greats!" he rejoiced.
While Klöden was busy with the Tour de France last month, Russ was busy with other things. He married his girlfriend, Stefanie. "We made the decision to get married when Matthias came back from the Giro," the young couple told Tour Magazine.
