Sanremo (AP) – The wait goes on. Well over 2000 days after John Degenkolb’s famous double in 2015, Paris-Nice winner Maximilian Schachmann was also unable to end the German lull in the great cycling classics.
The Bora-hansgrohe professional countered all attacks bravely and courageously in the 299-kilometer torture Milan-Sanremo, but had to admit defeat in the final on the Mediterranean coast. “It wasn’t my Sanremo. But I came in with the front and can be satisfied that I was able to go along with the attacks, ”said Schachmann.
When the Belgian surprise winner Jasper Stuyen, Australia’s sprinter Caleb Ewan and defending champion Wout van Aert from Belgium secured the podium places in the final sprint, debutants Schachmann (14th) and Pascal Ackermann (20th) were only supporting actors. Sprinter Ackermann struggled above all with the behavior on the infamous final climb. “At the Poggio I made the mistake of going too far back. That was punished in the end, ”said the man from Palatinate.
The German racing team Bora-hansgrohe with ex-world champion Peter Sagan (fourth) as well as Schachmann and Ackermann were represented three times in the top group, but only spectators at the award ceremony with masks, flowers and champagne bottles. “Fourth is the ungrateful place. But if you know the previous history, then we have to celebrate fourth place, “said Denk, especially with reference to team captain Sagan’s corona illness. “The big win at Milan-Sanremo is still missing, but we have experience with places two to six,” said Denk.
The current German generation around Schachmann is also missing the big victory at one of the five monuments. The 27-year-old Berliner and Nils Politt have already conquered podium places, but the last great success of a German was a long time ago. Paris-Roubaix and the difficult Ardennes classics await in April, where Schachmann and Politt can again hope for a coup.
For the next few years, especially on the flat 300-kilometer ride from the metropolis of Milan to the coast of Sanremo, sprinter Ackermann could become the wild card for a triumph. “It is definitely a race that can be up to me in the future,” said Ackermann. If the 27-year-old comes over the last hill, he can hardly be beaten in the final. “Next year I know what I can do better,” announced Ackermann.
The first classic of the year was accompanied by a verbal duel between managers Patrick Lefevere (Deceunick-Quickstep) and Denk. It is about the allegation that Denk and Bora-hansgrohe are poaching Quickstep cyclists and possibly want to take over the entire team for the 2022 season. “I think it’s almost a mess that he puts it that way. It is definitely not gentlemanly. I’m not used to that either, ”said Denk of the dpa in Sanremo.
Lefevere had described Denk in a column on “Het Nieuwsblad” as the “King of the Hunt” and claimed that the German was sending his drivers around the super talent Remco Evenepoel contract proposals. For Denk the situation is different. “I took the polite way. We have 19 World Tour teams and everyone has an interest in Remco. Patrick discovered him, so I spoke to him about the situation. Patrick said he doesn’t have sponsors for next year, but has an option for Remco. That would be debatable in the event that he no longer has a team. ”He wanted to“ see with Lefevere whether it becomes tangible or not, ”joked Denk.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210321-99-907611 / 3
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