Pithie, the second-placed Fred Wright (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) and his team-mate Aimé De Gendt had broken away from the peloton 46 kilometres before the finish. Although the peloton never really left the breakaway far behind and maintained a lead of around 30 seconds, they were no longer able to close the gap in the finale. Constant attacks did not allow any fruitful chase work. In addition, the team that could have been most interested in a sprint was Red Bull, as Jordi Meeus, the best sprinter on paper, was already at the front waiting for his chance.
Meeus was ultimately beaten in the chasing sprint by German hope Tobias Müller (Unibet Rose Rockets). At the front, however, Pithie showed off his superior sprinting ability, keeping Wright and De Gendt at bay. He celebrated the third victory of his career and the first since the Cadel Evans Race 2024, which he had won for Groupama - FDJ. It was also his first success for Red Bull, the team's 15th victory of the year.
"This is obviously a very important win for the team," said Pithie at the finish. "We had a few cards to play here. My job was to keep up with the groups. But it was enough to get through and win the sprint. Because I still had Jordi at the back, I was able to hold back a little on the work. That paid off."
191 kilometres in rainy weather were on the programme, with the Rhine mountains offering 2200 metres of elevation gain for the pros.
Around Cologne 2026 - Results
Rund um Köln: Cologne - Cologne
Rund um Köln 2026: Rund um Köln, Cologne - Cologne
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe | 04:12:36 |
| 2 | Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | +00:00:00 |
| 3 | Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | +000:00:02 |
| 4 | Unibet Rose Rockets | +000:00:06 |
| 5 | Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe | +000:00:06 |
| 6 | Alpecin - Premier Tech | +000:00:06 |
How Rund um Köln 2026 went
In the rain in Cologne, Paul Voß, who made a short-term comeback in the national team at the age of 40, was one of the first attackers in the Rhenish classic. An eight-man group around the German gravel champion broke away relatively early, but was caught again before the first climb, the Ferrenberg. In the next group were the two German KT riders Ole Theiler (REMBE | rad-ent) and Silas Koech (Team Lotto Kern-Haus Outlet Montabaur). While the gap had shrunk to half a minute in the meantime, it quickly widened to two and a half minutes after around 50 kilometres.
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe then took command of the peloton. 112 kilometres before the finish, the race went over the Agathaberg for the first time. While the front of the peloton slowed down at the bottom, causing congestion at the back and forcing riders to descend in the 27 per cent steep section, the pace was picked up again, causing the peloton to break up. Around 30 riders grouped together behind the leading group. By the second time over the Agathaberg, they were around half a minute behind the escapees.
In the flatter section afterwards, however, the groups behind the leaders ran together again and the quintet in front defended a 50-second lead with 70 kilometres to go. However, 62 kilometres before the finish, it was over. Shortly afterwards, the peloton broke up again as the race climbed the cobblestone hill to Bensberg Castle for the first time. However, the cut was short-lived.
Top trio is no longer caught up
It was a different story when they started to climb again one lap later. Pithie followed Wright, whose team-mate De Gendt also caught up shortly afterwards. The trio maintained a half-minute lead until 30 kilometres from the finish.
Another chasing trio that had formed was caught again ten kilometres before the finish. The leaders took 25 seconds into the final kilometres. And that should be enough. Outnumbered, but clearly the strongest sprinter among the escapees, Pithie secured victory ahead of Wright. Müller was the best German in the peloton, crossing the finish line just a few seconds later.
