After the amateur participants took to the course at the Brandenburg Gate in summery conditions in the morning, the elite started the 186-kilometre Garmin ProRace Berlin with 130 riders at the Großer Stern at 1 pm. During the course of the race to Brandenburg, a two-man lead group was initially able to break away, which was then caught in the course of the eight finishing laps through the centre of Berlin. This led to the expected bunch sprint. André Greipel from the Lotto Belisol team had the fastest legs in the end and won just ahead of the young pro Rüdiger Selig from the Russian Katusha team. "Everything went right, my team took the sprint perfectly, so it was enough in the end - this victory is great class and feels really good, even considering the competition," said the German top sprinter happily after his 13th win of the season.
Sports Director Erik Zabel was also satisfied: "We have once again seen sport at the highest level and made the right adjustments. In particular, the significant reduction in the number of crashes and injuries shows that our safer cycling concept has worked across the board. We will build on this even more in the future."
The death of an 82-year-old participant after a suspected heart attack overshadowed the event. "Despite all the satisfaction of a successful event, we very much regret that we have a first death at the Škoda Velothon Berlin. Our deepest sympathy goes out to his relatives," said Frank Bertling, Managing Director of organiser Upsolut, in an initial reaction.
