CyclingQuotes.com uses cookies for statistics and targeting ads. This information is shared with third parties.
ACCEPT COOKIES » MORE INFO »

Every day we bring you more pro-cycling news

"Ian Boswell and Christian Knees were awesome as well. I was just happy I could finish it off. It’s a good start and it makes up for a bit of disappointment for missing out on the Tour (de France)."

Photo: Sirotti

PETER KENNAUGH

RIDER PROFILE
|
NEWS

TEAM SKY

NEWS

TOUR OF AUSTRIA 

RACE PROFILE
|
NEWS
07.07.2014 @ 00:18 Posted by Emil Axelgaard

Peter Kennaugh was hugely disappointed not to get selectd by Team Sky for the Tour de France and he is apparently determined to prove his team management wrong. One week after claiming the British road race championships, he won today's hard opening stage of the Tour of Austria.

 

Peter Kennaugh won the opening stage of the Tour of Austria after attacking on the final climb to claim his first success in the British national champion’s jersey.

 

The Manxman benefited from some strong riding from his Team Sky team-mates who worked tirelessly to reel in the breakaway before setting up the 25-year-old on the steep run into Sonntagberg.

 

Kennaugh launched his attack inside the last two kilometres and surged clear to take the win by 11 seconds ahead of Olivier Zaugg (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Javier Moreno (Movistar) who rounded out the podium places.

 

“I felt good and all the team really committed," Kennaugh told TeamSky.com after the race. "Josh (Edmondson) rode great on the penultimate climb – that’s where we really set the tempo. Ian Boswell and Christian Knees were awesome as well. I was just happy I could finish it off. It’s a good start and it makes up for a bit of disappointment for missing out on the Tour (de France).

 

“I had good legs at the nationals and I didn’t do much during the week. I just took it easy and spent time with my family so I wasn’t sure how my legs would be. I knew I couldn’t lose too much in a week.”

 

On the prospect of defending the yellow jersey Kennaugh is optimistic and looking to gauge his form during the next week.

 

He continued: “Today we only had relatively short climbs which I know I’m pretty good at but I know it could be different once we get onto the longer climbs in the mountains. Hopefully I’ll defend the jersey as best I can. There’s a 24km time trial to come so I’ll try to follow, save energy and see how my legs are on the mountains. If they carry on like they felt today it would be nice to podium or possibly win it.”

 

The opening stage in Austria began in scorching conditions and it wasn’t long before a breakaway was established as Maxim Belkov (Katusha), Nathan Haas (Garmin-Sharp), Dennis Vanendert (Lotto-Belisol), Andreas Hofer (Team Vorarlberg) and Martin Weiss (Team Tyrol) broke clear in the opening kilometres.

 

The five riders opened up a maximum advantage of 6 minutes 35 seconds as Haas claimed the two intermediate sprints, while Belkov took the mountains points over the top of the first two-categorised climbs of the day.

 

Team Sky moved to the front of the peloton to set the pace as they looked to haul back the breakaway ahead of the final and decisive climb of the day. The escapees were eventually reeled in with 14km to go and the general classification contenders came to the fore on the testing climb to Sonntagberg.

 

Both Kennaugh and Kanstantsin Siutsou were delivered in prime position thanks to some strong work by Ian Boswell as the dwindling peloton hit the slopes of the last climb.

 

Kennaugh made his move inside the last two kilometres and held off the chasers to take the win by 11 seconds and move into the race lead while Siutsou came in 36 seconds behind the newly crowned British national champion to take ninth on the day.

 

Kennaugh will head into the second stage with a 15 second lead thanks to the four second time bonus he picked up on the finish line.

 

Speaking after the stage Sports Director Dan Frost was delighted with the result.

 

He said: “It was Pete’s first race in his new jersey and what a way to spend it. There was some good morale there and he really rode well and attacked hard at the end. Now we have to defend the leader’s jersey!

 

“It was great teamwork from the guys all day. We knew it would be hard on the final climb but even on the one before that there was a hard pace and the peloton began to split up into two big groups."

 

He added: “On the final climb we put on a tough pace for Pete and Kosta. Ian led them up on the final part until there were about 15 riders left. The whole team worked really hard together today. It was great to see and everyone contributed to that victory.

 

“It was also nice as it is Josh (Edmondson’s) birthday today and we said this morning that a win for the team would be a nice present.”

MORE NEWS:

VIEW SELECTED

Bycykling 101: Navigering i byens gader og cykelvenlige... 27.11.2023 @ 12:11The Best Danish Cyclist To Bet On At 2022 Tour De France 13.01.2022 @ 15:262022 Upcoming Tournament Overview 03.01.2022 @ 09:45Best Place to Find Stand-Up Paddleboards 16.06.2021 @ 08:16What are Primoz Roglic’s Chances to Win 2021 Tour de Fr... 17.03.2021 @ 08:37Amazing victory by young champion Sarah Gigante 04.02.2021 @ 14:21Three reasons why cycling is one of the best ways to ex... 28.09.2020 @ 12:03Why do businesses use meeting room managers? 14.09.2020 @ 13:42Five things that you can do, if you want to gain more f... 20.08.2020 @ 15:38One for the road 09.06.2020 @ 15:25List of CyclingQuotes previews 07.05.2020 @ 13:20Blue Energy: room for all interests 26.08.2019 @ 12:56Get your daily dose of exercise at home 08.07.2019 @ 10:443 good advice to be able to afford your favorite bike 25.02.2019 @ 12:32Cycle through gorgeous landscapes 22.10.2018 @ 21:41Balance Your Economy and Diet and Start Saving Money 08.10.2018 @ 11:18Stay Safe: 3 Helmets That Can Keep Your Head Protected... 20.07.2018 @ 07:59Planning to bet on Tour De France - Bet types and strat... 24.05.2018 @ 14:18Basics of cycling betting 25.10.2017 @ 13:10Bauer moves to ORICA-SCOTT 28.08.2017 @ 10:45End of the road for CyclingQuotes 08.01.2017 @ 16:00Rui Costa confirms Giro participation 07.01.2017 @ 12:55Van Avermaet: I am not afraid of Sagan 07.01.2017 @ 09:45Unchanged course for E3 Harelbeke 07.01.2017 @ 09:32Jenner takes surprise win at Australian U23 Championships 07.01.2017 @ 08:53No replacement for Meersman at Fortuneo-Vital Concept 06.01.2017 @ 19:14Barguil with two goals in 2017 06.01.2017 @ 19:06More details about French Vuelta start emerges 06.01.2017 @ 14:16Kristoff to start season at Etoile de Besseges 06.01.2017 @ 14:10Ion Izagirre announces schedule for first year at Bahrain 06.01.2017 @ 12:40JLT Condor optimistic for Herald Sun Tour 06.01.2017 @ 09:19Haas leads Dimension Data trio in fight for Australian... 06.01.2017 @ 09:15Sagan spearheads Bora-hansgrohe at Tour Down Under 06.01.2017 @ 09:12Henao and Thomas lead Sky Down Under 06.01.2017 @ 09:09Bauer crowned New Zealand TT champion 06.01.2017 @ 08:33Van der Poel ready to defend Dutch title 05.01.2017 @ 21:00Pantano ambitious for first Tour with Trek 05.01.2017 @ 20:41Landa with new approach to the Giro 05.01.2017 @ 20:36Sunweb Development Team sign Goos and Zepuntke 05.01.2017 @ 20:27Dumoulin confirms Giro participation 05.01.2017 @ 20:19Bauer targets victories in Quick-Step debut 05.01.2017 @ 20:16Gaviria and Boonen lead Quick-Step in San Juan 05.01.2017 @ 20:13Team Sunweb presented in Germany 05.01.2017 @ 20:09ASO take over major German WorldTour race 05.01.2017 @ 11:01Team Sunweb unveil new jersey 05.01.2017 @ 10:54Reactions from the Australian TT Championships 05.01.2017 @ 08:27Dennis defends Australian TT title 05.01.2017 @ 08:21Scotson takes back to back U23 TT titles in Australia 05.01.2017 @ 08:15Utrecht on track to host 2020 Vuelta 04.01.2017 @ 18:28Pre-season setback for Talansky 04.01.2017 @ 17:56Kristoff: It's not impossible for me to win in Rou... 04.01.2017 @ 17:49Boom close to first cyclo-cross win in LottoNL debut 04.01.2017 @ 17:40UAE Abu Dhabi make late signing of Arab rider 04.01.2017 @ 17:36UAE Abu Dhabi unveil new jersey 04.01.2017 @ 17:30BMC unveil race schedule 04.01.2017 @ 17:21

Currently no news in this list

Diana KLIMOVA
28 years | today
Roberta PILKAUSKAITE
36 years | today
Patryk ZLOTOWICZ
28 years | today
Wladimir BRICEÑO
35 years | today
Miguel Ernesto CHACON SOSA
41 years | today

© CyclingQuotes.com