Milram rider Peter Velits took his first victory since he signed with Milram in 2008, at the GP Kanton Aargau on Sunday. The Slovakian thereby topped off a solid weekend of racing for the German ProTour team which had already placed three riders in the Top Ten at the GP Triberg-Schwarzwald on Saturday.
In a breathtaking finale, Velits got the better of breakaway companion Jan Baekelants (Topsport Vlaanderen), with the bunch just a few seconds behind - Heinrich Haussler (Cervélo TestTeam) took the remaining spot on the podium.
"Peter Velits attacked on the last climb, nine kilometres from the finish, and was off the front on his own at first," said Ralf Grabsch, Team Milram sports director. "Jan Baekelants was able to bridge up to Velits. The two then raced with only 12 seconds advantage to the field."
The small advantage for the two leaders did not melt away under the pressure of the chasing field. "With two kilometres to go, the chasers disagreed and lost ground, which was what we had hoped for," continued Grabsch. "Peter Velits then took advantage of the situation."
In the end, the duo was only 15 metres in front of the peloton, led out by the Cervélo TestTeam, which complained of too little cooperation in the chase.
Team Milram was happy over the victory, especially since it topped off an already strong showing at the GP Triberg-Schwarzwald the day before. With Johannes Fröhlinger finishing third, Peter Velits eighth and Peter Wrolich tenth in Germany, the squad had all the reason to be satisfied. "We rode a top race yesterday already and could do even better today," continued Grabsch. "Our team works together brilliantly and we are finally rewarded for our efforts. These two races this week-end make us very hopeful for the next important events before the Tour de France."
