For the second time in his career, Jos van Emden proved the strongest in the Sparkassen Münsterland Giro. The Belkin Pro Cycling Team Dutchman joined an escape and broke free in the final kilometer.
“Winning is always nice,” he said, “but to win a race for the second time is extra nice.
Van Emden decided to take his chances and to go for an all-or-nothing attempt in the final. “During the race I felt that if I saved my forces for one attack I would have a chance. I knew that three guys were faster than me in the first group, so the decision was easy: I had to attack. I accelerated out of fourth position. I saw Iljo Keisse (Omega Pharma – Quick Step) trying to follow my wheel but apparently I was too fast.”
His 2007 victory gave him extra motivation. “When we crossed the finish line for the first time, my win from six years ago crossed my mind. That was a good feeling. During the race Robert Wagner told me that I looked strong and that gave my confidence a boost. That was the moment I really started to believe something was possible. The fact that I actually ended up winning is great. I’m a happy man.”
A real battle took place on the German road today. Groups of riders constantly tried to break free from the bunch. In every move, a Belkin Pro Cycling Team rider was present.
“Tom Leezer was the first who tried. He was upfront for a long time but eventually caught by the peloton. That was the moment that we took over the initiative,” said sports director Erik Dekker. “The riders broke the pack in several echelons. At one point, we had eight riders in a echelon of 11. When it all came back together, Moreno Hofland went on the attack. When he was reeled in, Jos gave it a go and stayed away. The guys were very motivated and really wanted to make the race. I’m very satisfied.”
Top 25 Finishers
1 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling 4:21:37 2 Tom Veelers (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 0:00:06 3 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:00:11 4 Michael Van Staeyen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:00:12 5 Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Rabobank Development Team 6 Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 0:02:10 7 Rick Zabel (Ger) Rabobank Development Team 0:02:22 8 Moreno Hofland (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling 9 Jan Dieteren (Ger) Team Stölting 10 Theo Reinhardt (Ger) Rad-Net Rose Team 11 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Germany 12 Jarl Salomein (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise 13 Sebastian Forke (Ger) Team NSP-Ghost 14 Kevin Peeters (Bel) Crelan-Euphony 15 Maarten Van Trijp (Ned) Rabobank Development Team 16 Christoph Schweizer (Ger) Synergy Baku Cycling Project 17 Janis Dakteris (Lat) Team Differdange – Losch 18 Blaz Jarc (Slo) Team NetApp-Endura 19 Stijn Neirynck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise 20 Jasper Bovenhuis (Ned) Rabobank Development Team 21 Mike Egger (Ger) Team Bergstrasse – Jenatec 22 Tom Vermeer (Ned) Cyclingteam Jo Piels 23 Carl Soballa (Ger) LKT Team Brandenburg 24 Ricardo Van Dongen (Ned) Rabobank Development Team 25 Martin Weiss (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team
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