Gregor Muhlberger solos to stage 2 win at the Deutschland Tour as Aranburu makes it Movistar one-two

Gregor Muhlberger has taken a brilliant solo win on stage 2 of the 2023 Deutschland Tour ahead of Alex Aranburu in a Movistar Team one-two.

Another important day for the overall classification. With over 200 kilometres on the menu the legs will weigh towards the end. The riders find a 5.5-kilometer climb at 4.4% and then a summit finish in Winterberg which includes a 2.7-kilometre climb at 6.1%.

Heading into the sharp end of the stage, two riders held a near six-minute lead over the peloton with 60km to go. Oscar Riesebeek of Alpecin-Deceuninck and Julian Borresch of the Saris Rouvy Sauerland Team were the men out front.

It wasn't long after however that Borresch began to struggle and Riesebeek was soon a lone leader at the head of the race.

With just over 20km to go, Riesebeek sat up and was caught by the peloton.

At the top of the penultimate climb, bonus seconds were on offer and it was the race leader Ilan van Wilder who powered his way to the maximum bonuses, extending his lead.

From there a counterattack of Gregor Muhlberger and Florian Stark rode clear and they reached the 10km to go marker they held a 25 second lead.

As the climb up to the line began, the leading duo's lead was dropping albeit not by very much. Still 19 seconds at 3km to go as Muhlberger attacked solo.

Crossing the 1km to-go banner the gap has fallen again to just 12 seconds.

The Austrian national champion though, looked to be soaring to victory. With the peloton closing, Muhlberger was able to hold on a celebrate a brilliant solo win with teammate Alex Aranburu making it a Movistar Team one-two.