The 39-year-old sprint star was unable to keep up with the leading group a good two kilometres from the finish and had to concede victory in his last race to his long-time rival Mark Cavendish. The 36-year-old Brit came out on top after 188.5 kilometres ahead of Greipel's team-mate Alexis Renard from France and Morten Hulgaaard from Denmark.
"In the end, I didn't deserve to win because I simply wasn't good enough. I didn't have the best legs, but I did the best I could," said Greipel, who won on Schlossplatz in Münster in 2008 and 2014, on WDR television. This year, the finish was outside the city limits due to the coronavirus.
The brawny sprinter, who was only known as "Gorilla" in the peloton, is one of the most successful professional cyclists in history with 158 professional victories. Born in Rostock and now living near Cologne, he has won eleven stages of the Tour de France, seven of the Giro d'Italia and four of the Vuelta.
Greipel does not yet know what will happen after the Day of German Unity. "Cycling is still great fun for me and I will continue to put a lot of strain on my pump here and there," said Greipel in the run-up to the event.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:211003-99-464576/2
