88th Rund um Köln - 1.2

Germany, April 21, 2003

2002 Results Results Past winners

Ullrich wins in impressive style

Jan Ullrich
Photo © Elmar Krings

Jan Ullrich (Team Coast) has taken his first victory in one and a half years, winning the 95 year old German classic Rund um Köln. Ullrich attacked with 53 kilometres to go in the 202 kilometre race to win solo by 1'52 in front of Danilo Hondo (Telekom) and last year's winner Peter Wrolich (Gerolsteiner). At an average speed of over 44 km/h, this win was no fluke, and proved that Ullrich is indeed on the right comeback road.

"It's like a miracle," a delighted Ullrich said at the finish. "I am unbelievably happy. Our tactic worked completely, I was able to protect myself in the first kilometres, and had good legs the whole time."

"Never before have I won a race this early in the season, but this is not a World Cup race," added Ullrich. "In my comeback I made up my mind to work seriously. I've learned from the faults I made and I state that I have to work hard and hurt myself."

A massive crowd turned out on Easter Monday in Köln to watch the 1997 Tour winner ride in his first race on German soil since 2001. The 29 year old did not disappoint, helping to chase down a 13 man break that had lasted for around 70 kilometres. Ullrich was third over the top of the fifth mountain climb in Overath-Ferrenberg, which saw the peloton stretched to breaking point.

Ullrich and Hondo
Photo © AFP

With 70 kilometres to go, Ullrich turned on the gas on a small climb just before the sixth mountain climb at Biesfeld, eventually causing a 22 man selection to form. It was from this group that Ullrich put in his final and decisive attack with 53 kilometres to go. The blue clad rider powered along on his own, getting a 40 second gap in six kilometres. That's all he needed and increased it to two then three minutes as he crossed the finish line with 20 and 10 kilometres to go. His final advantage was 1'52 to the Danilo Hondo led chase group, which had no answer to Jan Ullrich today.

Ullrich's next race will be La Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday, before resting up for Liege-Bastogne-Liege and more than likely the Rund um den Henninger Turm on May 1.

Photography

Images by Christine Grein

Team Lamonta's Bjoern Glasner
Bram Schmitz (BankGiroLoterij) meets VDB's dog after the Rund um Köln "So you were the guy driving the break all day!"
Now this would frighten anyone on a dark night
Gorik Gardeyn (Lotto-Domo) with the sultry look
Danilo Hondo (Telekom) and his daughter
Focus on the race are the words going through this Jean Delatour rider's mind.
Urban cowboy Jeroen Blijlevens (BankGiroLoterij)
Bobby Julich (Telekom) looks happy to be in Köln
Laszlo Bodrogi (Quick.Step-Davitamon) is almost unrecognisable without his Hungarian champion's jersey
Nice shades - Laurent Lefevre (Jean Delatour)
Nick Gates (Lotto-Domo) practises his stunt riding
The peloton in action during the Rund um Köln
Ralf Grabsch (Wiesenhof) enjoying the sun
Rik Reinerink (BankGiroLoterij) was in the gutter all day
Steffen Radochla (Team Coast) after a hard race
Lotto-Domo's Thierry Marichal
Jan Ullrich (Team Coast) powers his way to victory

Images by Elmar Krings

Telekom pushing to get closer to Ullrich
The peloton early in the race
Ullrich on the last lap
Ullrich putting the power down
A happy Ullrich after his win
The sprint for 2nd place
Ullrich and his trophy
Ullrich seems to be very happy with the result
Podium l-r: Hondo, Ullrich, Wrolich
The crowd at the finishing line

Images by AFP Photo/Uwe Knoth

Jan Ullrich (Team Coast) surrounded by photographers before the start of the 88th Rund um Köln
Jan Ullrich (Team Coast) signs an autograph before the start of the 88th Rund um Köln, his first race in Germany for nearly 2 years
Jan Ullrich (Team Coast) smiles in Leverkusen before the start of the race
Jan Ullrich (Team Coast) in Leverkusen before the start of the race
Jan Ullrich (Team Coast) rides next to Michael Reihs (Team fakta) during the 88th Rund um Köln, which he won
Jan Ullrich (Team Coast) and Danilo Hondo (Telekom, R) on the cobbles in Bensberg

Results - 202 km

1 Jan Ullrich (Ger) Team Coast                          4.35.40 (44.03 km/h)
2 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Team Telekom                          1.52
3 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner
4 Bert Scheirlinckx (Bel) Flanders-IteamNova.com
5 Steffen Radochla (Ger) Team Coast
6 Jörn Reuss (Ger) WINfix-techem
7 Enrico Poitschke (Ger) Team Wiesenhof
8 Massimo Giunti (Ita) Domina Vacanze-Elitron
9 Piotr Wadecki (Pol) Quick.Step-Davitamon
10 Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) Quick.Step-Davitamon
11 Manu L;Hoir (Bel) Marlux-Wincor Nixdorf
12 Matteo Carrara (Ita) De Nardi-Colpack
13 Andrey Mizourov (Kaz) MBK-Oktos-Saint-Quentin
14 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Vlaanderen-T Interim
15 Jens Heppner (Ger) Team Wiesenhof
16 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Flanders-IteamNova.com
17 Charles Guilbert (Fra) Marlux-Wincor Nixdorf
18 Steve De Wolf (Bel) Palmans-Collstrop
19 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) MBK-Oktos-Saint-Quentin
20 Kai Hundertmarck (Ger) Team Telekom                     1.59
21 Bobby Julich (USA) Team Telekom
22 David Kopp (Ger) Team Telekom                           2.17
23 Rafael Nuritdinov (Uzb) De Nardi-Colpack               12.34
24 Sergei Krushevskiy (Uzb) MBK-Oktos-Saint-Quentin
25 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Lotto-Domo
26 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quick.Step-Davitamon
27 Björnar Vestöl (Nor) Team fakta
28 Jan Verstraeten (Bel) Vlaanderen-T Interim
29 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Lotto-Domo
30 Lars Wackernagel (Ger) Team Wiesenhof
31 Erik Lievens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
32 Domenico Passuello (Ita) Quick.Step-Davitamon
33 Ondrej Fadrny (Cze) De Nardi-Colpack
34 Gian Matteo Fagnini (Ita) Team Telekom
35 Frederic Gabriel (Fra) MBK-Oktos-Saint-Quentin
36 Michel Van Haecke (Bel) Palmans-Collstrop
37 Torsten Hiekmann (Ger) Team Telekom

Past winners

Professional event (Cat. 1.3)
2002 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner   

2001 Gian Matteo Fagnini (Ita) Telekom
2000 Steffen Wesemann (Ger)
1999 Jens Heppner (Ger)
1998 Not Held
1997 Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel)
1996 Erik Zabel (Ger)
1995 Erik Dekker (Ned)
1994 Udo Bölts (Ger)
1993 Wim Van Eynde (Bel)
1992 Louis De Koning (Ned)
1991 Jerry Coman (Bel)
1990 Noél Segers (Bel)

Amateur event

1989 Domenik Krieger (Ger)
1988 Lutz Losch (Ger)
1987 Werner Wüller (Ger)
1986 Remig Stumpf (Ger)
1985 Han Vaanhold (Ned)
1984 Stani Mikolajczuk (Ger)
1983 Wolf-Dieter Wohlfshohl (Ger)
1982 J. Echter-mann (Ger)
1981 Michael Mohr (Ger)
1980 Achim Stadler (Ger)
1979 (3) Wilfried Trott (Ger)
1978 Arie Hassink (Ned)
1977 Scheunemann (Ned)
1976 (2) Wilfried Trott (Ger)
1975 Jan Smyrak (Ger)
1974 Dietrich Thurau (Ger)
1973 H. Jungbluth (Ger)
1972 Wilfried Trott (Ger)
1971 R. Gilson (Lux)
1970 Streckies (Ger)
1969 Jürgen Tschan (Ger)

Professional event

1968 Burkhard Ebert (Ger)
1967 Noél Foré (Bel)
1966 Piet Glemser (Ger)
1965 (2) Horst Oldenburg (Ger)
1964 Horst Oldenburg (Ger)

Amateur event

1963 Wilfried Bölke (Ger)
1962 S. Koch (Ger)
1961 Smits (Bel)
1960 Mathias Löder (Ger)
1959 H. Hofmann (Ger)
1958 W.-J. Edler (Ger)
1957 W. Grabo (Ger)
1956 Edi Ziegler (Ger)
1955 (2) Hans Preiskeit (Ger)
1954 W. Irr-gang (Ger) - Amateur
1953 Günther Otto (Ger)
1952 Popp (Ger) - Amateur
1951 H. Schwarzer (Ger)
1950 a) Holzmann - b) Scherpenborg (Ger) - Amateur
1949 Schultenjohann (Ger)
1948 (2) H. Schwarzer (Ger) - Amateur
1947 Holthöfer (Ger) - Amateur
1946 Nowa-kowski (Ger) - Amateur

1944-1945: Not Held

1943 Kittsteiner (Ger) - Amateur
1942 H. Schwarzer (Ger) - Amateur
1941 Hans Preiskeit (Ger) - Amateur
1940 J. Kropp (Ger) - Amateur
1939 Willi Meurer (Ger) - Amateur
1938 Franz Bronold  (Ger) - Amateur
1937 (29 Emil Kijewski (Ger)
1936 (2) Erich Bautz (Ger)
1935 Emil Kijewski (Ger)
1934 Kurt Stöpel (Ger)
1933 a) Erich Bautz - J. Neumeyer (Ger) - Amateur
1932 a) J. Kraus (Lux) - b) H. Weiß - Amateur
1931 H. Rü-diger (Ger)
1930 Otto Kratz (Ger) - Amateur
1929 a) Franz Schmitz - b) W. Frielingsdorf (Ger) - Amateur
1928 Alfredo Binda (Ita)
1927 Gaetano Belloni (Ita)
1926 Heinriich Suter (Swi)
1925 (2) Paul Kohl (Ger)
1924 Paul Kohl (Ger)
1923 Fritz Fischer (Ger)
1922 Paul Koch (Ger)
1921 (2) Adolf Huschke (Ger)
1920 Adam Sachs (Ger) - Amateur

1915-1919: Not Held

1914 (2) Ernst Franz (Ger)
1913 Ernst Franz (Ger)
1912 J. Steingass (Ger)
1911 Adolf Huschke (Ger)
1910 Jean Rosellen & Karl Wittig (Ger)
1909 Otto Wincziers (Ger)
1908 Fritz Tacke (Ger)

Past winners by Mario Stiehl, www.world-of-cycling.com