The opening stage of the Tour of Hellas delivered exactly what everyone expected from Greek racing: high speed, nervous positioning battles and a technical finale that kept the peloton under pressure all day long.
Starting in Ioannina and finishing after 172 demanding kilometers in Agrinio, the race was contested at an impressive average speed of nearly 50 km/h. Despite pleasant temperatures around 21 degrees, the day already began with a tough 84 km transfer through narrow and winding mountain roads before the actual racing had even started.
For Team Storck – MRW BAU, the plan for the day was clear from the beginning: protect Matthew Walls and position him perfectly for the bunch sprint in Agrinio.
Sports Director Felix Linders described the final city circuit as extremely technical and stressful, featuring tight corners, roundabouts, roadworks and constant fights for positioning. Especially the final kilometers required full concentration, as the slightly downhill run-in after the last roundabout made the approach to the finish even faster and more dangerous.
The team worked strongly throughout the finale and the lead-out for Matthew was developing perfectly until the last kilometers. Unfortunately, several crashes disrupted the sprint preparation and Matt was heavily boxed in after another incident unfolded directly in front of him.
Despite the chaos, Matthew still managed to finish in a strong 5th place, proving once again that the speed and shape are clearly there when given a clean sprint opportunity.
The stage victory eventually went to Mathis Avondts from Azerion / Villa Valkenburg.
Overall, it was a solid and promising start into the race for Team Storck – MRW BAU, especially considering the demanding conditions and stressful finale.
