Uno-X works hard, but Matthews takes advantage and sprints to victory in Eschborn-Frankfurt

It is May 1, Labor Day, when the German people traditionally enjoy a day off. And what better way to spend a public holiday than with a beautiful race? That must have been what the organizers thought because today marks the 62nd edition of Eschborn-Frankfurt. A race that is always unpredictable and in which both sprinters and climbers can win. There were some impressive names at the start again this year.

Early in this one-day race, which has had WorldTour status since 2017, Laurence Pithie and Pierre Thierry attacked. The two quickly built up a lead of over five minutes over the peloton. On the first climb of the day, the Feldberg, their lead, even grew to more than six minutes, while the peloton seemed satisfied with the situation for the time being.

With 150 kilometers to go, the lead was down to four minutes, and you knew this attack would probably not finish. With 110 kilometers to go, the lead was down to three minutes, and Pithie surprisingly had to let his fellow breakaway rider Thierry go on one of the small, rolling hills. At that point, Pithie was unable to keep up.

When the peloton picked up speed as it approached the second climb of the Mammolshain, the solo rider's lead quickly dwindled. Thierry was eventually caught on the climb. Several riders had to drop back during the second climb of the Feldberg, but there were no real breakaways.

Despite this, the peloton fragmented considerably, leaving only about fifty riders heading for the final obstacle of the day. All the big sprinters except Michael Matthews had been dropped from this depleted group. Other names at the front included Marc Hirschi, Neilson Powless, Magnus Cort, Simone Velasco, and Alex Aranburu. With this group, they approached the final climb of the Mammolshain, which, with about 30 kilometers to go, would be the race's decisive moment. The pace immediately picked up.

The attackers did not want to go to the finish line with the fast riders. Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) pushed hard, but Maximilian Schachmann managed to get away. He was joined by Gregor Muhlberger (Movistar) and Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility). The Norwegian proved to be a problem, holding back the attackers. With Cort in the group behind, he did not do any of the work at the front. But the chasers were not interested in working either. It was a status quo, with a series of attacks from behind.

Muhlberger and Schachmann were eager to stay ahead of the rest, but the longer Leknessund lingered behind, the more impact that had. The trio was caught with 18 kilometers to go, but the attacks kept coming. However, Uno-X took the lead and made it very difficult to break away. Nico Denz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) tried, but the Norwegian team (with help from Jayco AlUla) didn't let anyone get away.

About 30 riders went to the finish. Cort and Matthews were the favorites on paper in the sprint, and their teams positioned them accordingly. It was Uno-X who stayed in front, perfectly bringing Cort into the sprint. Matthews was on his wheel and went early. He surprised his former teammate and took the victory in Frankfurt, ahead of Cort and Jon Barrenetxea.