Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates) confirmed he was in top Tour de France form by going back-to-back at the elite men’s German national time trial championships just over a week ahead of the Grand Départ.
The UAE rouleur beat two-time German road race champion Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) to the title in Bad Dürrheim in a time of 36:51. Schachmann set a time 17 seconds slower with Miguel Heidemann (Felt Felbermayr) taking the bronze with a time of 37:16.
Politt dominated the 30.6km course as he led at all three of the time checks, only losing time from T2 to the finish due to the more hilly terrain in the final 5km suiting Schachmann’s characteristics better.
The trio on the podium were the exact same as the 2023 race, except Heidemann and Schachmann swapped finishing positions. On that occasion, Politt was only 11 seconds faster.
Pollitt’s first chance to don the German stripes on his skinsuit will come on stage 7 of the Tour de France after he got confirmed on UAE Team Emirates’ start-studded lineup this morning.
The big, powerful German will be at the services of Tadej Pogačar throughout the three weeks, with his work as a rouleur to control the breakaways and pace on the flat vital for the Slovenian’s Giro-Tour double attempt.
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