Fresh out of their training camp in Kühtai, stage one of Le Tour de Savoie Mont Blanc was Development Team Sunweb first competitive outing since the season restart. The undulating 109 kilometre route saw the riders head south from Annemasse to Praz-sur-Arly.
Following a series of attacks and counter attacks in the opening kilometres, a six-man group steadily built a comprehensive advantage over the peloton. An unwillingness to take charge of the chase by the teams in the peloton, saw the front group build a gap of over ten minutes as they crested the first difficulty of the day, the Col des Aravis.
The unrelenting nature of the profile of the first stage reduced the peloton to just a handful of riders, further hindering their efforts to reel the break back in. Stage victory was all but secured for the morning breakaway with Joab Schneiter ultimately crossing the line first for the win. Nils Sinschek was the team’s first rider home, coming in with what was left of a now very reduced peloton.
“The whole team has really been looking forward to finally getting back to racing. In the opening stages, Marius, Enzo and Leo did a good job trying to get themselves in the early breaks. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to get anyone in there and the breakaway built a big gap back to the bunch.
The Pro-Continental teams gambled a bit which allowed the break to make it all the way to the finish. I had good legs despite not competing in a race for a long time but I lacked a bit in terms of explosiveness on the final climb. I know from last year that there is still a lot to play for and that the GC is far from over. We have two really hard stages in the next couple of days. There’s still a lot of opportunities left in this race for us.”
Nils Sinschek
It was not the result we were hoping for today, but we’re pleased with the guys’ efforts. They did a good job for Nils and Hannes who were in a good position going into the final climb. It’s just a shame that the breakaway got such a big gap to take the stage win.”
Team Sunweb coach Bennie Lambregts