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Stuttgart - Slovenia's Matej Mohoric was crowned the overall Tour of Germany champion on Sunday after finishing second behind home favourite Nils Politt in Sunday's fourth and final stage in Stuttgart.
It was second stage-race win in a fortnight for Mohoric, 23, who won Saturday's stage in Merzig to take the red jersey, following victory last weekend on the four-day BinckBank Tour through Belgium and the Netherlands.
Politt, 24, earned the first stage-race win of his career by covering the 207.4km from Lorsch to Stuttgart in four hours, 49 minutes, 20 seconds with Mohoric finishing close behind.
Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas finished 52nd on Sunday, 2:30 behind Politt, coming 41st overall, but the Welshman's presence in Germany boosted the race's profile on its return after a decade-long absence.
Maximilian Schachmann, who won Friday's second stage after beating Mohoric on the line in Trier, took second overall with Politt third.
Enthusiastic crowds greeted the riders as the Tour of Germany returned following a ten-year hiatus after the 2009 edition was scrapped following a series of high-profile doping cases, which blighted cycling.
"It's amazing, the number of spectators is great. Cycling is not dead in Germany," beamed Berlin-born Schachmann.
Organisers ASO, who are also behind the Tour de France, want to make the German race a regular fixture on the cycling calendar with plans to make the race a nine-day event in the coming years.
"The atmosphere is right, the performances were right, even from the German riders, which gives us courage for the future," race director Claude Rach told SID, an AFP subsidiary.
Results from the fourth and final stage of the Tour of Germany, a 207.5km ride from Lorsch to Stuttgart on Sunday:
1 Nils Politt (GER/Katusha) 4hrs 49mins 20sec, 2. Matej Mohoric (SLO/Bahrain Merida) same time, 3. Damiano Caruso (ITA/BMC) s.t., 4. Nick van der Lijke (NED/Lotto NL) s.t., 5. Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA/Dimension Data) s.t., 6. Romain Bardet (FRA/AG2R) s.t., 7. Alexis Vuillermoz (FRA/AG2R) s.t., 8. Warren Barguil (FRA/Fortuneo) s.t., 9. Patrick Konrad (AUT/Bora) s.t., 10. Maximilian Schachmann (GER/Quick Step) s.t.
Selected:
52. Geraint Thomas (GBR/Sky) 02:30
Overall standings
1. Matej Mohoric (SLO/Bahrain Merida) 17hrs 27min 10sec, 2. Nils Politt (GER/Katusha) at 6sec, 3. Maximilian Schachmann (GER/Quick Step) at 12, 4. Tom Dumoulin (NED/Sunweb) 16, 5. Damiano Caruso (ITA/BMC) 26, 6. Warren Barguil (FRA/Fortuneo) 28, 7. Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (RSA/Dimension Data) 30, 8. Romain Bardet (FRA/AG2R) 31, 9. Guillaume Martin (FRA/Wanty) 33, Nick van der Kijke (NED/Lotto NL) 34.
Selected:
41. Geraint Thomas (GBR/SKY) 07:14
