Hanka wins final stage at Tour du Grand Montreal

JUNE 05 2009

Though it already went quite good for Hanka and the BDR national team they caused a great furore at the last day of the Tour du Grand Montreal. The young team managed to achieve a tactical masterstroke. The reward: a brilliant success. Hanka won the 115km stage in 02:52:13 hours while her team colleague Denise Zuckermandel (21 y/o, same time) became third. In overall standings, Hanka jumped up to place six. Winner of the round trip became the Dutchwoman Kirsten Wild (Cervelo Test Team).

The 23 km lap consisted of a 1500m ascent (up to 12%) and a long downhill part to the finish line. During the four sprint stages the BDR team kept with the pace very well. Hanka became second at the first stage, then she was fourth and sixth. And during the final sprint Hanka, Denise and Elke Gebhardt (24) have learned from their mistakes before. Thus they’ve done everything right and beaten the big sprinters of the tour by working together tactically.

Obviously, there was great happiness. Nobody had expected this coup. But national trainer Thomas Liese was last to receive the sensational news. Reason: Tour radio had failed and just before finish the material cars were diverted into a back road. So he couldn’t get in touch with his team until 10 minutes after the race was over.

“This is a great success for our young team, the greatest ever, actually”, Hanka cheered after finish. But for her, after so many great victories it was a very special success, too: “It was one of the very rare races I could decide during sprint, maybe the fifth at all.”

(Click on photo to see details.)