Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM Team, Netherlands) won the Sparkassen M\u00fcnsterland Giro (Germany) on 3 October, in the sprint of a group of 23 riders, in 4h08’31”. Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Belgium) was second, Frits Biesterbos (Team Picnic Postnl, Netherlands) third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The M\u00fcnsterland Giro started in Borken and finished in M\u00fcnster, in the castle square. On the eve of the race the organisers were expecting a sprint, and in M\u00fcnster sprints are the rule: since 2006 there have been five races that did not end in a bunch sprint. It was also the twentieth edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After several failed attempts, the right break formed in the afternoon, made up of six men: Kelland O’Brien, No\u00e9 Ury, Samuele Zoccarato, Ward Vanhoof, Samuel Leroux and Arno Wallenborn. The gap reached about two minutes, then began to fall. Ury lost contact and the escapees were down to five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wallenborn was the most active on the climbs: he won four of the five mountain sprints and the mountains classification. Vanhoof took the points classification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Behind, the work fell to the sprinters’ teams. With 26 kilometres to go the five still had 35\u201d. Alpecin-Premier Tech led the chase, with Soudal Quick-Step alongside. A mechanical problem stopped Jasper Philipsen, winner in 2024 and 2025 and chasing a third consecutive title: the Belgian got back to the bunch, but his race ended there. The gap fell to 7\u201d and shortly afterwards the peloton caught the last escapees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The final attacks, around twenty kilometres from the finish, did not change the script. A thousand metres from the line the bunch was still together and Decathlon CMA CGM launched the sprint for their fast man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kooij went and nobody caught him again: he beat Meeus and Biesterbos on the straight in M\u00fcnster. For the Dutchman it is a second win in the race, after the one in 2022, and it came in an autumn when the strongest sprinters were all on the start line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the same sprint Max Walscheid, a 33-year-old German, ended his professional career. He finished twelfth, after fading in the final metres. He had won here in 2018. He stays at Lidl-Trek, in the team’s \u201cPerformance Centre\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first of the Italians is Davide Persico, MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort, 21st in the same time as the winner. 147 riders finished out of 151 starters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n