German Gerald Ciolek won stage three of the Tour of Germany on Friday to give the little-known Wiesenhof-Akud team their first success. He out-sprinted compatriots Erik Zabel and Andre Greipel in a bunch sprint to win the 203.3km (126.3 mile) stage from Witzenhausen to Schweinfurt.
"This victory is a huge step forward for me and my squad," said Ciolek.
"It was a chaotic and complicated sprint, but I'm always more motivated riding on home soil."
Tour of Germany stage three result:
1. Gerald Ciolek (Germany / Wiesenhof - AKUD ) 4:56:22"
2. Erik Zabel (Germany / Milram ) same time
3. Andre Greipel (Germany / T-Mobile ) same time
4. Luke Roberts (Australia / Team CSC ) same time
5. Mark Renshaw (Australia / Credit Agricole ) same time
6. Alexei Markov (Russia / Caisse d'Epargne ) same time
7. Rony Martias (France / Bouygues Telecom ) same time
8. Roy Sentjens (Belgium / Rabobank ) same time
9. Danilo Napolitano (Italy / Lampre ) same time
10. Koldo Fernandez (Spain / Euskaltel )
Overall standings:
1. Vladimir Gusev (Russia / Discovery Channel ) 14:08:39"
2. Erik Zabel (Germany / Milram ) same time
3. Linus Gerdemann (Germany / T-Mobile ) +1"
4. Davide Rebellin (Italy / Gerolsteiner ) +7"
5. Inigo Cuesta (Spain / Team CSC ) +10"
6. Jens Voigt (Germany / Team CSC ) +11"
7. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kazakhstan / Astana ) same time
8. Nick Nuyens (Belgium / Quick-Step ) +13"
9. Evgueni Petrov (Russia / Lampre ) +14"
10. Assan Bazayev (Kazakhstan / Astana ) +17"
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