Cycling: The first stage winner and first wearer of the Wiesbauer-Osttirol leader's jersey is Pete Kennaugh. The Sky rider dominated today's opening stage of the 66th International Tour of Austria, finishing ahead of Switzerland's Oliver Zaugg. The best Austrian was Patrick Konrad (Gourmetfein Simplon) from Lower Austria, who finished sixth. Last year's winner, Riccardo Zoidl, had a bad day and lost 1 minute and 53 seconds.
In front of a large crowd and under bright sunshine, the first stage from Tulln to Sonntagberg, a 182-kilometer route, got off to the expected hectic start. Even before the first Lottery sprint classification at Grafenegg Castle, five riders managed to break away from the peloton: Martin Weiss (Team Tirol), Maxim Belkov (Trek), Nathan Haas (Garmin-Sharp), Andreas Hofer (Team Vorarlberg), and Dennis Vanendert (Lotto-Belisol) quickly built up a lead of over five minutes.
On the climb to the Category 2 climb of Jauerling, the leading group held a 5:10 minute advantage. With around 70 kilometers to go, the pace in the peloton increased, and the gap shrank to approximately 2:30 minutes. However, after Wieselburg, the leading group's advantage grew again to over three minutes. On the climb to the final Wiesbauer climb, the Ybbsitzer Höhe, the two Austrians, Hofer and Weiss, lost contact with their breakaway companions. With 25 kilometers remaining in Ybbsitz, the trio's lead was reduced to around 1:30 minutes. The peloton was regrouped with approximately 14 kilometers to go.
British champion Pete Kennaugh (Sky) quickly took the initiative on the three-kilometre-long final ascent, with a maximum gradient of 14 percent, up to the Sonntagberg pilgrimage basilica, where thousands of spectators once again welcomed the professional cyclists. With around 1,5 kilometers to go, he took the lead and brought an eleven-second lead over the Swiss Tinkoff-Saxo pro to the finish. The Spanish Movistar professional Javier Moreno was third in the stage.
“Those were very long final meters for me. I already had very good legs last week at the British Championships and I was able to show that again today. I'm here in Austria to go for stage wins. And now it's worked out right on the first day ,” beamed the 25-year-old stage winner and first wearer of the Wiesbauer-Osttirol leader's jersey at the finish.
Patrick Konrad of Gourmetfein Simplon from Lower Austria delivered a fantastic performance in the sporting heartland of Lower Austria. He finished sixth in the stage, just 25 seconds behind Kennaugh, and will wear the Tchibo jersey as the best Austrian rider tomorrow. "Those were the longest three kilometers of my cycling career. This first stage went perfectly for our Gourmetfein team: sixth place for me, Jure Golcer tenth, and Martija Kvasina twelfth. A superb team effort."
Last year's winner, Riccardo Zoidl of Team Trek, finished 29th, 1:53 minutes behind the stage winner. The Upper Austrian rider was unable to keep up with the pace of the leaders with approximately 1,5 kilometers to go. "I had a bad day, but I expect my team to ride for me all the way to the Kitzbühel Horn ," Zoidl said after crossing the finish line.
The first leader in the Lotteries points classification is Pete Kennaugh. Breakaway rider Nathan Haas of Team Garmin-Sharp will wear the leader's jersey tomorrow. In the Wiesbauer mountains classification, Russian Maxim Belkov of Team Katusha leads.