FRANKFURT, Germany, May 1, 2008 (AFP) – Flying Dutchman Karsten Kroon, from the Danish cycling team CSC, has won the Frankfurt Grand Prix for the second time here on Thursday.

Kroon, 32, finished first over the 179 kilometers course ahead of Italian Davide Rebellin, riding for Germany team Gerolsteiner, and Columbian Mauricio Ardila, who was riding for Rabobank.

While Rebellin missed out on his second title after his 2003 win, Kroon added the 2008 crown to his 2004 success.

Schleck did a fantastic job in the final, and even had the strength to deliver Kroon perfectly in the sprint, where Kroon beat another former winner of the race, Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner). In the peloton Lars Bak also did well.

“I’m happy on Karstens behalf. He was very determined to win this race and then he just went out and did it. But Andy and Lars also deserve some credit. They followed our tactics to 100 % and did what they had to do all the way to the finish. Unfortunately Lasse Bøchman wasn’t able to start the race due to his knee problems, and André Steensen and Matthew Goss abandoned after 60 kilometers, so actually we only had three riders left, but that just makes Karsten, Andy og Lars’ efforts even greater,” a happy sports director Torsten Schmidt said following the race.