Max Walscheid just missed the win at the final stage of Tour of Denmark with second place and Søren Kragh Andersen finished a strong week as 5th overall.
At the end of a turbulent week that was raced very aggressively by Lidl-Trek, Stage 5 concluded in Rødovre after 126 kilometers with a bunch sprint.
Jakob Söderqvist and Tim Torn Teutenberg prepared the sprint with their lead-out for Walscheid, and the 33-year-old powered to second place, betaen only by Rasmus Pedersen, who was racing for the Danish national team.
“I’m generally happy, but I have to admit it also hurts a bit to be beaten. The team did a great job today, especially in the final kilometer where Jakob and Tim’s lead-out was really awesome”, Max praised his teammates after the race.
Beyond the great work they did, it was really fun to ride behind the guys and have a clear run to the line. That felt really good. Today was one of the first times I’ve sprinted this year, and to really go all in like that was cool.”
Søren Kragh Andersen finished in the main field and thereby held on to the fifth place overall that he had earned through attentive riding from Stage 1 onward. In particular, the Dane’s presence in the front groups on the opening day in Aalborg and on the rain-soaked Stage 3 to Vejle secured his high overall position.
Teutenberg had already delivered a top result on the opening stage by finishing fourth in Aalborg, where Kragh Andersen crossed the line in eighth. On Stage 2 in Skive, Walscheid finished sixth, and the following day in Vejle, Kragh Andersen came home fifth.
After a five-man breakaway stayed clear on Stage 4 to Faaborg, Teutenberg sprinted to eighth place, and on the final day Walscheid’s runner-up finish ensured that Lidl-Trek was in the mix at the front on all five stages.
In Max’s words:
We had very, very good teamwork throughout the week, even if it unfortunately wasn't always rewarded 100 percent. But we showed a lot of positives, even though Tim, Søren and I were missing that little bit of luck from time to time when it came to the results. As far as our team performance was concerned, though, we really performed well. It was a good week, and I think all of the riders here are on the right track for the rest of the season.
