O'Grady and Bak return

CSC team directeur sportif Kim Andersen has said that Lars Bak's and Stuart O'Grady's return to racing at yesterday's Rund um Köln went "better than expected". The 202km race was won by Milram's Christian Knees from David Kopp (Gerolsteiner), perhaps helping to demonstrate that Milram isn't a two-sprinter team after all.

CSC's Luke Roberts was seventh, a result about which Anderson said, "Luke did well and was right where he was supposed to be, when the first serious split took place. He lacked that last bit in keeping up, when four riders escaped at the end, but he did get a top-10 spot for his efforts."

As for the two riders returning from injury, Anderson added, "Both Lars and Stuart did well too considering the pace was very fast from the start, and that it was anything but a flat route. I actually think it went considerably better than expected with them both recovering from serious crashes. They got some good [training], which will help them get ready for the two Danish races at the end of the month."