Caleb Ewan (Orica-BikeExchange) took his first one-day win at WorldTour level with victory in the 21st edition of the EuroEyes Cyclassics (formerly Vattenfall Cyclassics) in Hamburg, after Frenchman Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) was relegated for an irregular sprint.
A breakaway group of six went away for much of the day, and the four remaining riders from the original break almost made it to the finish but were caught by the sprinters teams within the final kilometre, with Alessandro De Marchi (BMC) the final man to get pulled back in.
A chaotic sprint then ensued, with Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) hitting out first. The rest of the sprinters quickly followed and Bouhanni crossed the line ahead of the rest with his arms aloft.
Caleb Ewan (OBE) on the podium after winning the 2016 Cyclassics Hamburg.
(Image credit: Watson)
Bouhanni came round Nizzolo with around 100m to go but 22-year-old Ewan then tried to overtake him on the right hand side of the road, but Bouhanni appeared to move across to block his path. The commissaires later deemed the Frenchman's sprint illegal and awarded the win to Ewan.
John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) and Nizzolo were subsequently awarded second and third place respectively.
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“I’m really happy with the victory,” said Ewan on the win. “It was a very fast and tough sprint, I had to deviate from my line a bit and it’s always difficult to try and regain momentum after that.
“It’s great to get a European win under my belt for this season. It was an eventful day all round after suffering a puncture and then crashing twice although fortunately I landed on my feet both times.
“The whole team did a fantastic job in getting me back into the bunch after the crashes and they really were superb today.”
Results
EuroEyes Cyclassics, Hamburg (217.7km)
1. Caleb Ewan (Orica-BikeExchange), in 04-54-27
2. John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) ST
3. Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) ST
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