Alessio Magagnotti wrote a small surprise story at the Deutschland Tour: The 19-year-old Italian won the second stage over 197 km from Schwäbisch Hall to Offenbach an der Queich in a bunch sprint, leaving established professionals behind. Particularly bitter: Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), winner of the Cyclassics Hamburg last Sunday and the best sprinter at the Giro d’Italia in May, had to settle for second place. Portuguese rider Iúri Leitão (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA) finished third.
Phil Bauhaus from Team Bahrain Victorious finished fifth on the rain-soaked stage – his last stage win was more than two years ago. The best German finisher was Maximilian Walscheid (Lidl-Trek) in fourth place, just ahead of Bauhaus.
Bauhaus expressed his disappointment after the race: “The team positioned me well. In the end, I was on my own, which was a shame,” he told german television.
In the general classification, Frenchman Louis Barré (Visma-Lease a Bike), winner of the first stage, defends the blue jersey with a six-second lead over Isaac Del Toro (UAE Emirates-XRG). On Saturday, the third stage over 170.8 km from Herxheim to Bad Dürkheim will already be decisive in the fight for the overall victory – the profile is significantly hillier.
The tour ends in Heilbronn on Sunday.
