German national champion Georg Zimmermann (Lotto Intermarché) claimed victory in a reduced sprint at the 63rd edition of the Eschborn-Frankfurt classic, covering the 211.5 km route in 4 hours, 59 minutes, and 34 seconds at an average speed of 42.3 km/h. The 28-year-old from Augsburg outsprinted Tom Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5) and Ben Tulett (Visma), with the same time also recorded by Pello Bilbao (Bahrain), Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), and Adrià Pericas (UAE) — the Spanish riders who featured in the decisive breakaway.
The German one-day race, which traditionally closes the spring classics, kicked off with an early breakaway of five riders: Frenchmen Gachignard and Leroux, German Rutsch, Lithuanian Mikutis, and Czech Kopecky. The peloton kept them under control and eventually caught them with 50 km to go.
With 26 km remaining, a powerful group of 20 riders formed at the front, including Pello Bilbao, Tom Pidcock, Adrià Pericas, Ion Izagirre, and Tesfatsion. Earlier, Tim Wellens (UAE) and Emiel Vestrynge (Alpecin) had attacked on the second ascent of Mammolshain (2.2 km at 7.8%), but Tulett and Baudin closed the gap.
The race took an unexpected twist when an amateur cyclist rode directly in front of the leading group, followed by a pedestrian and a loose dog crossing the road. The peloton closed to within 20 seconds of the breakaway, then just 5 seconds with 2 km to go.
A sprint finish was not ideal for everyone, prompting a late surge from Danish rider Michael Valgren and an early sprint launch by Pello Bilbao. However, neither could withstand the final onslaught. Zimmermann powered to his fifth professional victory, honoring the tricolor jersey of national champion, and succeeded Australian Michael Matthews as the winner.
