Isaac Del Toro put in a stunning ride to take victory in the Prologue at the Lidl Deutschland Tour on Wednesday.
The UAE Team Emirates rider stopped the clock in a time of 3:08 on the short but sharp 2.6km course around Bad Orb in western Germany. Having led the race for much of the day, Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep) finished second just under a second behind the Mexican champion, while his teammate Laurez Rex was third five seconds behind the leader.
Del Toro started the day as the penultimate rider and his three minute ride was a tense affair on drying roads, but he will take a decent lead into the four, lumpy remaining stages.
“It was a hard one for everybody I think, but yeah I’m not going to lie, I think they would have helped a bit otherwise Magnier was still in the lead, but yeah he did a crazy good job happy with the team, everybody helped me and give me some morale for these three minutes.
"I mean obviously I didn’t want to take risks so I took the corner last safe as I can and then the sprint in line, but yeah super happy to take this," Del Toro said.
"It’s supposed to be really good honestly I feel really good on the bike, but yeah mentally I’m recovering as well, so we’ll see how it is this week but happy to be back. On paper it’s tricky here in Deutschland but we will see day by day and I’m happy with how it went today."
For its 40th edition, the Deutschland Tour began with a 2.6km prologue ahead of the remaining four stages to be held in the coming days.
Held in Bad Orb, just east Frankfurt, the course was uphill from the start ramp before dropping in the second half of the race, though it was hardly a climber’s course, with only 45 metres of elevation gain. While it was short, the course tackled eight corners with a long sweeping right hand bend to the finish line and with set roads early in the day, the course was a technical one.
Home rider Jakob Neumann (Storck-MRW Bau) was first down the ramp in the 2.Pro second division race, stopping the clock in a time of 3:52, though he led for just a handful of seconds as new best times were set.
The likes of Luc Wirtgen (Tudor Pro Cycling) and Henri Uhlig (Alpecin-Premier Tech) both led the race, the latter occupying the hot seat for a long time, though as the roads began to dry times began to drop.
Fresh from victory at the ADAC Cyclassics at the weekend, Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep) set a time of 3:10, and while others threatened his time, the Frenchman spent a considerable time in the leader’s hot seat, no one able to get within three seconds of him until Del Tor set his scorching time.
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Prologue Results
Position |
Rider (Country) Team |
Time Gap |
|---|---|---|
1 |
Isaac Del Toro Romero (Mex) UAE Team Emirates-XRG |
0:03:08 |
2 |
Paul Magnier (Fra) Soudal-QuickStep |
0:00:02 |
3 |
Laurenz Rex (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep |
0:00:05 |
4 |
Marco Haller (Aut) Tudor Pro Cycling PRT |
|
5 |
Andrea Raccagni Noviero (Ita) Soudal-QuickStep |
0:00:06 |
6 |
Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Cofidis PRT |
0:00:07 |
7 |
António Tomas Morgado (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG |
|
8 |
Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Lidl-Trek |
|
9 |
Tibor Del Grosso (Ned) Alpecin-Premier Tech |
|
10 |
Tobias Müller (Ger) Unibet Rose Rockets PRT |
|
11 |
Joren Bloem (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets PRT |
0:00:08 |
12 |
Nils Politt (Ger) UAE Team Emirates-XRG |
|
13 |
Gorka Sorarrain Agirrezabala (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA PRT |
|
14 |
Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe |
0:00:09 |
15 |
Mathias Vacek (Cze) Lidl-Trek |
0:00:10 |
16 |
John Degenkolb (Ger) Picnic PostNL |
|
17 |
Stefano Oldani (Ita) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA PRT |
|
18 |
Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Soudal-QuickStep |
|
19 |
Jesper Stiansen (Nor) Tudor Pro Cycling Team U23 CTM |
0:00:11 |
20 |
Alberto Bruttomesso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious |
|
21 |
Benjamin Boos (Ger) Rembe | Rad-Net CTM |
|
22 |
Felix Groß (Ger) |
|
23 |
Ben Felix Jochum (Ger) Team Lotto Kern-Haus Outlet Montabaur CTM |
0:00:12 |
24 |
Rainer Kepplinger (Aut) Bahrain Victorious |
|
25 |
Marc Hirschi (Swi) Tudor Pro Cycling PRT |
|
26 |
Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Soudal-QuickStep |
|
27 |
Mil Morang (Lux) Team Lotto Kern-Haus Outlet Montabaur CTM |
|
28 |
Nikias Arndt (Ger) Bahrain Victorious |
0:00:13 |
29 |
Henri Uhlig (Ger) Alpecin-Premier Tech |
|
30 |
Iúri Leitão (Por) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA PRT |
|
31 |
Maximilian Richard Walscheid (Ger) Lidl-Trek |
|
32 |
Edoardo Zambanini (Ita) Bahrain Victorious |
|
33 |
Lorenzo De Longhi (Ita) Campana Imballaggi-Morbiato-Trentino CTM |
|
34 |
Alexander Hajek (Aut) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe |
0:00:14 |
35 |
Louis Barre (Fra) Visma-Lease a Bike |
|
36 |
Robin Donzé (Swi) Tudor Pro Cycling PRT |
|
37 |
Guus Van Den Eijnden (Ned) Alpecin-Premier Tech Development Team CTM |
|
38 |
Tim Torn Teutenberg (Ger) Lidl-Trek |
|
39 |
Senna Remijn (Ned) Alpecin-Premier Tech |
|
40 |
Natnael Tesfatsion (Eri) Movistar Team |
0:00:15 |
41 |
Bart Lemmen (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike |
|
42 |
Edgar David Cadena Martinez (Mex) Team Storck- Mrw Bau CTM |
|
43 |
Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike |
|
44 |
Luc Wirtgen (Lux) Tudor Pro Cycling PRT |
0:00:16 |
45 |
Ian Kings (Ger) Team Visma | Lease A Bike Development CTM |
0:00:17 |
46 |
Roy Hoogendoorn (Ned) Metec- Solarwatt P/B Mantel CTM |
|
47 |
Florian Stork (Ger) Tudor Pro Cycling PRT |
|
48 |
Alessio Magagnotti (Ita) Red Bull- Bora- Hansgrohe Rookies CTM |
|
49 |
Frank Van Den Broek (Ned) Picnic PostNL |
|
50 |
Matteo Sobrero (Ita) Lidl-Trek |
|
51 |
Rory Townsend (Irl) Unibet Rose Rockets PRT |
|
52 |
Jarrad Eriks Drizners (Aus) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe |
|
53 |
Dylan Teuns (Bel) Cofidis PRT |
0:00:18 |
54 |
Fabien Doubey (Fra) Totalenergies PRT |
|
55 |
Niklas Märkl (Ger) Picnic PostNL |
|
56 |
Alan Jousseaume (Fra) Totalenergies PRT |
|
57 |
Dominik Röber (Ger) Team Vorarlberg CTM |
0:00:19 |
58 |
Will Smith (GBr) |
|
59 |
Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Cofidis PRT |
|
60 |
Juan Pedro Lopez Perez (Spa) Movistar Team |
|
61 |
Clement Venturini (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets PRT |
|
62 |
Lennart Voege (Ger) Team Storck- Mrw Bau CTM |
0:00:20 |
63 |
Giulio Pellizzari (Ita) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe |
|
64 |
Lander Loockx (Bel) Unibet Rose Rockets PRT |
|
65 |
Jonas Rutsch (Ger) Lotto-Intermarché |
|
66 |
Julian Borresch (Ger) Rembe | Rad-Net CTM |
|
67 |
Johannes Adamietz (Ger) Rembe | Rad-Net CTM |
|
68 |
Paul Voss (Ger) |
0:00:21 |
69 |
Alexys Brunel (Fra) Totalenergies PRT |
|
70 |
Michel Heßmann (Ger) Movistar Team |
|
71 |
Mathieu Burgaudeau (Fra) Totalenergies PRT |
|
72 |
Yael Joalland (Fra) Cofidis PRT |
0:00:22 |
73 |
Ko Molenaar (Ned) Development Team Picnic Postnl CTM |
|
74 |
Alexandre Kess (Lux) Team Lotto Kern-Haus Outlet Montabaur CTM |
|
75 |
Luca Vergallito (Ita) Alpecin-Premier Tech |
|
76 |
Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team |
|
77 |
Niels Vandeputte (Bel) Alpecin-Premier Tech Development Team CTM |
0:00:23 |
78 |
Arno Wallenborn (Lux) Team Lotto Kern-Haus Outlet Montabaur CTM |
|
79 |
Georg Zimmermann (Ger) Lotto-Intermarché |
0:00:24 |
80 |
Giovanni Aleotti (Ita) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe |
|
81 |
Tijmen Graat (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike |
|
82 |
Jonathan Malte Rottmann (Ger) Team Lotto Kern-Haus Outlet Montabaur CTM |
|
83 |
Joan Bou Company (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA PRT |
|
84 |
Joshua Huppertz (Ger) Team Lotto Kern-Haus Outlet Montabaur CTM |
0:00:25 |
85 |
Patrick Reißig (Ger) Benotti Berthold CTM |
|
86 |
Jan Maas (Ned) Cofidis PRT |
0:00:26 |
87 |
Ellande Larronde (Fra) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA PRT |
|
88 |
Gorka Corres Ibañez De Opakua (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA PRT |
0:00:27 |
89 |
Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious |
|
90 |
Matteo Vanden Wijngaert (Bel) Uae Team Emirates Gen-Z CTM |
|
91 |
Mees Vlot (Ned) Development Team Picnic Postnl CTM |
0:00:28 |
92 |
Leon Arenz (Ger) Rembe | Rad-Net CTM |
|
93 |
Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep |
|
94 |
Ole Theiler (Ger) Rembe | Rad-Net CTM |
|
95 |
Matthew Walls (GBr) Team Storck- Mrw Bau CTM |
0:00:29 |
96 |
Alvaro Sagrado Perez (Spa) Team Storck- Mrw Bau CTM |
0:00:30 |
97 |
Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Spa) Lidl-Trek |
|
98 |
Moritz Mauss (Ger) Uae Team Emirates Gen-Z CTM |
|
99 |
Pelayo Sanchez Mayo (Spa) Movistar Team |
|
100 |
Noé Ury (Lux) Team Storck- Mrw Bau CTM |
0:00:31 |
101 |
Miguel Heidemann (Ger) Rembe | Rad-Net CTM |
0:00:32 |
102 |
Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates-XRG |
|
103 |
Pavel Novák (Cze) Movistar Team |
0:00:33 |
104 |
Fran Miholjević (Cro) Bahrain Victorious |
0:00:36 |
105 |
Jakob Neumann (Ger) Team Storck- Mrw Bau CTM |
0:00:44 |
106 |
Martijn Rasenberg (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets PRT |
|
107 |
Théo Hebert (Fra) Vendee U Primeo Energie CTM |
0:01:00 |
General Classification after the Prologue
Position |
Rider (Country) Team |
Time Gap |
|---|---|---|
1 |
Isaac Del Toro Romero (Mex) UAE Team Emirates-XRG |
0:03:08 |
2 |
Paul Magnier (Fra) Soudal-QuickStep |
0:00:02 |
3 |
Laurenz Rex (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep |
0:00:05 |
4 |
Marco Haller (Aut) Tudor Pro Cycling PRT |
|
5 |
Andrea Raccagni Noviero (Ita) Soudal-QuickStep |
0:00:06 |
6 |
Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Cofidis PRT |
0:00:07 |
7 |
António Tomas Morgado (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG |
|
8 |
Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Lidl-Trek |
|
9 |
Tibor Del Grosso (Ned) Alpecin-Premier Tech |
|
10 |
Tobias Müller (Ger) Unibet Rose Rockets PRT |
|
11 |
Joren Bloem (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets PRT |
0:00:08 |
12 |
Nils Politt (Ger) UAE Team Emirates-XRG |
|
13 |
Gorka Sorarrain Agirrezabala (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA PRT |
|
14 |
Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe |
0:00:09 |
15 |
Mathias Vacek (Cze) Lidl-Trek |
0:00:10 |
16 |
John Degenkolb (Ger) Picnic PostNL |
|
17 |
Stefano Oldani (Ita) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA PRT |
|
18 |
Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Soudal-QuickStep |
|
19 |
Jesper Stiansen (Nor) Tudor Pro Cycling Team U23 CTM |
0:00:11 |
20 |
Alberto Bruttomesso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious |
|
21 |
Benjamin Boos (Ger) Rembe | Rad-Net CTM |
|
22 |
Felix Groß (Ger) |
|
23 |
Ben Felix Jochum (Ger) Team Lotto Kern-Haus Outlet Montabaur CTM |
0:00:12 |
24 |
Rainer Kepplinger (Aut) Bahrain Victorious |
|
25 |
Marc Hirschi (Swi) Tudor Pro Cycling PRT |
|
26 |
Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Soudal-QuickStep |
|
27 |
Mil Morang (Lux) Team Lotto Kern-Haus Outlet Montabaur CTM |
|
28 |
Nikias Arndt (Ger) Bahrain Victorious |
0:00:13 |
29 |
Henri Uhlig (Ger) Alpecin-Premier Tech |
|
30 |
Iúri Leitão (Por) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA PRT |
|
31 |
Maximilian Richard Walscheid (Ger) Lidl-Trek |
|
32 |
Edoardo Zambanini (Ita) Bahrain Victorious |
|
33 |
Lorenzo De Longhi (Ita) Campana Imballaggi-Morbiato-Trentino CTM |
|
34 |
Alexander Hajek (Aut) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe |
0:00:14 |
35 |
Louis Barre (Fra) Visma-Lease a Bike |
|
36 |
Robin Donzé (Swi) Tudor Pro Cycling PRT |
|
37 |
Guus Van Den Eijnden (Ned) Alpecin-Premier Tech Development Team CTM |
|
38 |
Tim Torn Teutenberg (Ger) Lidl-Trek |
|
39 |
Senna Remijn (Ned) Alpecin-Premier Tech |
|
40 |
Natnael Tesfatsion (Eri) Movistar Team |
0:00:15 |
41 |
Bart Lemmen (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike |
|
42 |
Edgar David Cadena Martinez (Mex) Team Storck- Mrw Bau CTM |
|
43 |
Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike |
|
44 |
Luc Wirtgen (Lux) Tudor Pro Cycling PRT |
0:00:16 |
45 |
Ian Kings (Ger) Team Visma | Lease A Bike Development CTM |
0:00:17 |
46 |
Roy Hoogendoorn (Ned) Metec- Solarwatt P/B Mantel CTM |
|
47 |
Florian Stork (Ger) Tudor Pro Cycling PRT |
|
48 |
Alessio Magagnotti (Ita) Red Bull- Bora- Hansgrohe Rookies CTM |
|
49 |
Frank Van Den Broek (Ned) Picnic PostNL |
|
50 |
Matteo Sobrero (Ita) Lidl-Trek |
|
51 |
Rory Townsend (Irl) Unibet Rose Rockets PRT |
|
52 |
Jarrad Eriks Drizners (Aus) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe |
|
53 |
Dylan Teuns (Bel) Cofidis PRT |
0:00:18 |
54 |
Fabien Doubey (Fra) Totalenergies PRT |
|
55 |
Niklas Märkl (Ger) Picnic PostNL |
|
56 |
Alan Jousseaume (Fra) Totalenergies PRT |
|
57 |
Dominik Röber (Ger) Team Vorarlberg CTM |
0:00:19 |
58 |
Will Smith (GBr) |
|
59 |
Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Cofidis PRT |
|
60 |
Juan Pedro Lopez Perez (Spa) Movistar Team |
|
61 |
Clement Venturini (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets PRT |
|
62 |
Lennart Voege (Ger) Team Storck- Mrw Bau CTM |
0:00:20 |
63 |
Giulio Pellizzari (Ita) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe |
|
64 |
Lander Loockx (Bel) Unibet Rose Rockets PRT |
|
65 |
Jonas Rutsch (Ger) Lotto-Intermarché |
|
66 |
Julian Borresch (Ger) Rembe | Rad-Net CTM |
|
67 |
Johannes Adamietz (Ger) Rembe | Rad-Net CTM |
|
68 |
Paul Voss (Ger) |
0:00:21 |
69 |
Alexys Brunel (Fra) Totalenergies PRT |
|
70 |
Michel Heßmann (Ger) Movistar Team |
|
71 |
Mathieu Burgaudeau (Fra) Totalenergies PRT |
|
72 |
Yael Joalland (Fra) Cofidis PRT |
0:00:22 |
73 |
Ko Molenaar (Ned) Development Team Picnic Postnl CTM |
|
74 |
Alexandre Kess (Lux) Team Lotto Kern-Haus Outlet Montabaur CTM |
|
75 |
Luca Vergallito (Ita) Alpecin-Premier Tech |
|
76 |
Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team |
|
77 |
Niels Vandeputte (Bel) Alpecin-Premier Tech Development Team CTM |
0:00:23 |
78 |
Arno Wallenborn (Lux) Team Lotto Kern-Haus Outlet Montabaur CTM |
|
79 |
Georg Zimmermann (Ger) Lotto-Intermarché |
0:00:24 |
80 |
Giovanni Aleotti (Ita) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe |
|
81 |
Tijmen Graat (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike |
|
82 |
Jonathan Malte Rottmann (Ger) Team Lotto Kern-Haus Outlet Montabaur CTM |
|
83 |
Joan Bou Company (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA PRT |
|
84 |
Joshua Huppertz (Ger) Team Lotto Kern-Haus Outlet Montabaur CTM |
0:00:25 |
85 |
Patrick Reißig (Ger) Benotti Berthold CTM |
|
86 |
Jan Maas (Ned) Cofidis PRT |
0:00:26 |
87 |
Ellande Larronde (Fra) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA PRT |
|
88 |
Gorka Corres Ibañez De Opakua (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA PRT |
0:00:27 |
89 |
Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious |
|
90 |
Matteo Vanden Wijngaert (Bel) Uae Team Emirates Gen-Z CTM |
|
91 |
Mees Vlot (Ned) Development Team Picnic Postnl CTM |
0:00:28 |
92 |
Leon Arenz (Ger) Rembe | Rad-Net CTM |
|
93 |
Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep |
|
94 |
Ole Theiler (Ger) Rembe | Rad-Net CTM |
|
95 |
Matthew Walls (GBr) Team Storck- Mrw Bau CTM |
0:00:29 |
96 |
Alvaro Sagrado Perez (Spa) Team Storck- Mrw Bau CTM |
0:00:30 |
97 |
Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Spa) Lidl-Trek |
|
98 |
Moritz Mauss (Ger) Uae Team Emirates Gen-Z CTM |
|
99 |
Pelayo Sanchez Mayo (Spa) Movistar Team |
|
100 |
Noé Ury (Lux) Team Storck- Mrw Bau CTM |
0:00:31 |
101 |
Miguel Heidemann (Ger) Rembe | Rad-Net CTM |
0:00:32 |
102 |
Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates-XRG |
|
103 |
Pavel Novák (Cze) Movistar Team |
0:00:33 |
104 |
Fran Miholjević (Cro) Bahrain Victorious |
0:00:36 |
105 |
Jakob Neumann (Ger) Team Storck- Mrw Bau CTM |
0:00:44 |
106 |
Martijn Rasenberg (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets PRT |
|
107 |
Théo Hebert (Fra) Vendee U Primeo Energie CTM |
0:01:00 |
