Despite the Waseberg, the WorldTour race in Hamburg is usually an affair for the sprinters. And this year too, it was the fast guys who took centre stage at the end: Olav Kooij (Visma | Lease a Bike) finally came out on top in the centre of Hamburg ahead of Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) and Binian Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty). Around 30 riders reached the finish line in the first group. Fourth place went to the Belgian Jordi Meeus, meaning that Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe missed out on a home win in Hamburg. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) only took seventh place.
The high speed was particularly memorable: the riders reached the finish line at an average speed of around 48 km/h - the fastest time in the history of the race.
However, German riders played no part in the race. Even the breakaway group that dominated the race over 160 kilometres did not include any German riders. Nikias Arnd (Bahrain-Victorious) achieved the best result of the day in 17th place. Pascal Ackermann (Israel - Premier Tech), Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) and John Degenkolb (dsm-firmenich PostNL) were no longer represented at the front in the finale. Max Kanter (Astana) had to abandon the race en route.
This means that four Germans have won the Cyclassics so far: Jan Ullrich, Erik Zabel, John Degenkolb and Andre Greipel.
Cyclassics Hamburg 2024 results: the top 10
- Olav Kooij (Visma | Lease a Bike), 3:39.49 hours
- Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), +s.t.
- Binian Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty)
- Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
- Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility)
- Axel Zingle (Cofidis)
- Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
- Mike Teunissen (Intermarché-Wanty)
- Matteo Trentin (Tudor-Pro Cycling)
- Stefano Oldani (Cofidis)
How the Cyclassics Hamburg 2024 went
At the start in the centre of Hamburg, the first attacks were launched, from which a six-man lead group quickly formed. This included Michael Morkov (Astana), Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché-Wanty), Stefan De Bod (EF Education-EasyPost), Rémi Cavagna (Movistar), Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Cyrus Monk (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team). After 8.5 kilometres, the group reached the first intermediate sprint in Schenefeld, where Morkov secured the points.
Breakaway temporarily over seven minutes ahead of the peloton
The route then takes the riders northwards: They travelled past Quickborn to Mönkloh, which was the turning point of the route. The escape group's lead subsequently increased to around 7:30 minutes and was then around four minutes by the middle of the race.
After returning to Hamburg, the route headed south past Pinneberg and Wedel. Once in Hamburg, there was a final circuit on which the Waseberg had to be climbed three times, the first time 64 kilometres before the finish. Although the climb is only 800 metres long, it has an average gradient of eight per cent. Cavagna lost the escape group there and Monk won the mountain classification.
With 47 kilometres to go, the escape group reached the finish line in Hamburg on Mönckebergstraße for the first time. At this point, the lead was still around two minutes. Subsequently, however, the gap to the escapees was rapidly reduced, so that 25 kilometres before the finish their endeavour was over.
Alex Aranburu tries it as a soloist in the final
On the second ascent of the Waseberg, Alex Aranburu (Movistar) attacked 23 kilometres from the finish and was accompanied by Fabio Christen (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team). Together, the duo built up a 35-second lead. Aranburu then shook off his companion with 16 kilometres to go. With a 15-second lead, the Spaniard then made it over the third ascent to the Waseberg. Meanwhile, several riders in the peloton dropped back on the Waseberg, including the German sprinters Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) and John Degenkolb (dsm-firmenich PostNL).
Behind Aranburu, Alpecin-Deceuninck and Visma | Lease a Bike as well as Lidl-Trek and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe organised the chase. Aranburu was finally caught ten kilometres from the finish. It came to the expected sprint finish in Hamburg's city centre.
