Elena Hartmann has won the Tour de Berlin in impressive style, attacking and riding solo to take her maiden victory for Israel – Premier Tech Roland.
With a mostly flat parcours, many people would have the Tour de Berlin earmarked as a day for the Sprinters. When the flag was dropped, attacks started coming off from the front of the race, but they were never afforded much time, with the sprint teams having an eye on the victory, making the racing hard and high-paced. But once the day’s final breakaway was caught, Elena Hartmann had other ideas, ripping up the rulebook and attacking in the last twenty kilometers. Despite a frantic chase from the peloton, Hartmann, who has recently moved up from the Development Team to the World Tour Team, won the race in an emphatic solo effort.
Hartmann was happy with her result, as she knew she had the legs to take the win:
“Today’s flat race was very hectic from the beginning, as many girls started attacking and trying to break away. I tried to stay calm for as long as possible and then started my own attack with twenty kilometers to go. Since I like time trialling, I felt confident that my plan would work out, and it did. I am so happy about my victory!”
Sports Director Jochen Dornbusch was also pleased with the result:
“It’s a good result for the team. It was a hard day for the riders, and Elena rode a strong race to attack like she did in the last twenty kilometers. It was also a good race for Maayan Tzur who also managed to ride to a top ten in the sprint, so it’s a great result for the team.”
