Rory Townsend went in a 200km breakaway, was the only rider to make it all the way, and still had a really strong sprint at the finish (Photo: Szymon Gruchalski-Cor Vos)
Rory Townsend (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) has taken the biggest win of his career, and his first win in a World Tour race, at the Cyclassics Hamburg after going in the 200km breakaway and proving the only rider to make it all the way.
In the closing kilometres of the 207km race, Townsend and two other escapees were dangling off the front a matter of seconds ahead of the reduced peloton.
And though some of the biggest teams in the world, working for many of cycling’s fastest sprinters, were breathing down their necks, Townsend opened his gallop early in the finishing straight and his renowned sprint was enough to secure the win.
Incredibly, the riders behind him got to his back wheel on the line, finishing on the same time as Townsend, though the 30-year-old Irish road race champion hung on to win, and was in disbelief as he crossed the line.
He topped the podium from Arnaud De Lie (Lotto) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) for a famous win and by far the biggest of his career.
Townsend was up the road in a group of four for 200km – gaining five minutes at one point. In a mark of how strong he was today, when the Irish champion left his breakaway companions, by opening his sprint with 400m to go, the gap between him and the front of the chasing pack got a little bigger.
De Lie was at the head of that pack, furiously sprinting in a bid to catch Townsend and take the victory from him. But the Irish rider was simply too strong and too fast and has captured a dream win on a career-defining day.
More to come.
Another incredible final km!! One guy from the breakaway makes it to the line and it’s the Irish champ Rory Townsend who takes the biggest win of his career, just fending off the storming bunch! Crazy! 🔥🔥🔥 #ADACCyclassicshttps://t.co/oBfKWympy8 pic.twitter.com/DhGIP89GtA
— Eemeli (@LosBrolin) August 17, 2025