Michael Matthews (Rabobank) won the 95th edtion of the Rund um Köln (Tour of Cologne), the race traditionally held on Easter Monday each year, at the head of a bunch sprint. The Australian under-23 World champion outsprinted Marcel Kittel (Skil-Shimano) and Giacomo Nizzolo (Leopard Trek) at the end of the hilly 203.5km race.
The first successful attack of the day came from Jens Voigt (Leopard Trek) and Thierry Hupont (Skil-Shimano) after just 12km. After a short time the two rider were joined by Dominik Nerz (who rides for Liquigas-Cannondale, but today was riding for the German National Team), Cesare Benedetti (NetApp) and Jamo Gmelich (Cyclingteam Jo Piels). They quickly opened up a lead over the peloton, and by the 52nd kilometre their advantage was up to six minutes.
The two Dutch ProTeams, Rabobank and Vacansoleil-DCM were the teams most interested in pulling the five riders back and closed the gap to around three minutes; there it was to stay until the race climbed the cobbled hill to the Schloss Bensberg for the first time after 110km.
The chase then began once more and the quintet’s advantage was reduced to 1’45” in the next 10km. Nerz found himself unable to hang on to the other four and was quickly absorbed by the peloton; meanwhile, 2005 winner David Kopp (Team Eddy Merckx-Indeland) attacked with teammate Luc Hagenaars and tried to get across to the leaders.
Kopp and Hagenaars were unable to make it across and the four leaders were caught with around 50km to go.
There were several further attempts to escape in the closing stages of the race, notably from Martin Pedersen (Leopard Trek) and Blaz Furdi (Adria Mobil), Edwig Cammaerts (Landbouwkrediet), and Stefan Denifl (Leopard Trek), Dirk Müller (Nutrixxion-Sparkasse) and Huub Duyn (Donckers Koffie-Jelly Belly). The sprinters teams were determined that the race would not end in a breakaway though and so no one was able to get more than a dozen seconds clear.
The German national team, which had Lampre-ISD’s Danilo Hondo in its ranks, Skil-Shimano, with Kittel, and Rabobank, who had brought Matthews, Graeme Brown and Theo Bos, were all prominent at the front.
It was “Bling” Matthews who was the strongest in the end though, ahead of Kittel and Nizzolo; despite his mid-race attack Kopp was still able to manage fourth.