Paul Magnier won the Hamburg Classic with a powerful performance, riding almost flawlessly with his entire Soudal Quick Step team. Over the 205 km race, the final passage over the Waseberg climb 15 km from the finish proved decisive, eliminating many sprinters but not the Frenchman, who gritted his teeth and claimed his seventh victory of the season in the sprint. Second place went to Mike Teunissen (XSD Astana) and Laurence Pithie (Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe). Jonathan Milan, one of the day's most anticipated athletes and the reigning champion, couldn't cope with the final Waseberg passage.

THE RACE. Hamburg dressed up to host the twenty-ninth edition of the German classic, included in the World Tour calendar and characterized by a course that favors the sprinters. 205.3 km starting from Buxtehude and finishing in the heart of Hamburg, stormed by a massive crowd. Officially named the ADAC Classic, the course followed the 2025 edition's layout with over 1800 meters of elevation gain and the Waseberg climb (700 m at 16%) to be tackled 5 times, with the final ascent about fifteen kilometers from the finish.

Ready, set, go—the day's breakaway formed in just a few kilometers and featured Jonas Rutsch (Lotto Intermarchè), Benjamin Thomas (Team Cofidis), Dries de Pooter (Team Jayco Alula), Filip Maciejuk (Team Movistar), Niklas Behrens and Loe Van Belle (Visma Lease Bike). The six escapees managed to build a maximum advantage of 4 minutes over the main group, where the sprinters' teams worked hard, led by Lidl Trek of Jonathan Milan and Soudal Quick Step of Paul Magnier.

With each passage over the Waseberg, the main group shed more riders and progressively closed in on the breakaway. The leaders were caught shortly after the final climb, 15 km from the finish, also thanks to Isaac del Toro's aggressive push, which put many sprinters in difficulty, including Jonathan Milan and Olav Kooij. The Italian champion tried everything to get back, but Soudal Quick Step and Team Visma Lease a Bike dominated at the front, collaborating to set a blistering pace.

Paul Magnier perfectly exploited his team's excellent work and launched an extremely long sprint, with no other athlete able to even draw alongside the Frenchman, who won the Hamburg Classic by a narrow margin—his first World Tour classic victory of his career.

FINAL RESULTS

1 Magnier Paul Soudal Quick-Step 04:17:55

2 Teunissen Mike XDS Astana Team + 00

3 Pithie Laurence Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe + 00

4 Penhoët Paul Groupama-FDJ United + 00

5 Uhlig Henri Alpecin-Premier Tech + 00

6 Fretin Milan Cofidis + 00

7 Rutsch Jonas Lotto-Intermarchè + 00

8 Wærenskjold Søren Uno-X Mobility + 00

9 Artz Huub Lotto-Intermarchè + 00

10 De Lie Arnaud Lotto-Intermarchè + 00