Try as they might, with nearly half the team attacking at Sunday’s Vattenfall Cyclassics in Germany, it was a bunch sprint in the one-day classic.

Robbie McEwen led an all-Australian sweep of the podium after out-kicking compatriots to win his first classic of his career. Marcus Ljungqvist led for the team in 17th.

“It was fast from the start and I think the average speed for the race was 46kph,” said sport director Kim Andersen. “We were on the attack, but we didn’t come with a pure sprinter, so in the end, victory wasn’t possible. We had Lars (Bak), (Gustav) Larsson and Marcus Ljungqvist in the front group.”