Søren Kragh Andersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) won the 2023 Eschborn-Frankfurt, out-sprinting Patrick Konrad (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Alessandro Fedeli (Q36.5) from a winning breakaway.
With 2km remaining, Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) launched a brief attack and was reeled back by Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates). Kragh Andersen then took to the front after the final corner and was able to hold off charges from behind at the line.
On the finishing circuit of 6.7km in Frankfurt with huge crowds gathered for the Labour Day holiday in Germany, the peloton tried to shut down a 30-second gap to a lead group of 10, which had formed 29km earlier using an acceleration from Hirschi. He was joined by nine others to form the decisive break, including Kragh Andersen, Zimmermann, Fedeli, Konrad, Ben Hermans and Stephen Williams of Israel-Premier Tech, Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost), Lorenzo Rota (Intermaché-Circus-Wanty) and Martin Marcellusi (Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè).
At the end of the a twisting 203.8km route in the west hills of Frankfurt, Kragh Andersen earned his first victory in the blue and red colours for Alpecin-Deceuninck, while two of the team’s strongmen expected to contest for the win were DNF’s, Gianni Vermeersch and 2021 Eschborn-Frankfurt winner Jasper Philipsen.
Now in its 60th edition, Eschborn-Frankfurt has traditionally been a one-day showcase for sprinters in the transition from the Classics. This year organisers bumped up the distance by 18.8km as well as the climbing, now with 3,000 metres of elevation gain with a second ascent of the Feldberg added to the second half of the race.
The first break of the day was launched by six riders, Jens Reynders (Israel-Premier Tech), Cériel Desal (Bingoal WB), Matteo Moschetti (Q36.5 Pro Cycling), Sergio Tu (Bahrain Victorious), Max Walscheid (Cofidis) and Felipe Orts (Burgos-BH). They stretched the lead to close to four minutes, with Moschetti and Tu the final riders to be caught on the slopes of the second climb of the Feldberg, made from the steeper south-western side.
A group of 30 riders massed at the front led by Jayco AlUla and sprinter Michael Matthews still engaged for a sprint finish. The chase was led by teams Lotto Dstny, Uno-X and Team DSM for its sprinters, who made the catch with 52km to go.
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Across the steep 2.3km Mammolshain for a third and final time, Martin Marcellusi (Green Project-Bardiani CSF Faizanè) took the KOM points, but did not stay at the front very long as Hirschi ignited the action from behind and led the decisive group was on its way to Frankfurt.
Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. On the bike, she has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast), and spends time on gravel around horse farms in north Georgia.
