Nicola Ruffoni continued the excellent Tour of Austria for Bardiani by claiming his second and the teamøs third stage win in the bunch sprint on stage 6 of the race. After his team had worked hard to bring the break back, he beat Daniel Auer (Felbermayr) and Sylwester Janiszewski (Wibatech) in the final fdashn to the line while Jan Hirt (CCC) easily retained the lead.

We have gathered a few reactions.

Nicola Ruffoni hopes to carry Austrian momentum into the Tour de Pologne

Nicola Ruffoni makes the double and Bardiani-CSF even the hat-trick. It was another great day for the Bardiani team at Tour of Austria who won stage six.

It also happened during stage one: Ruffoni was the fastest of the peloton and his sprint left his competitors without any chance. For the Italian sprinterm, it is the third win as professional and for Bardiani-CSF the sixth in 2016.

“I have only praise and applaud to my teammates,” said Ruffoni. “Everyone did their job to let me sprint today. At 30 km from the finish, with the escapees still pushing hard, we took the head of the peloton, setting the pace. Without my teammates’ effort I don’t think the stage would have finished with a bunch sprint. During the last 10 km they helped me to save energy. My task was only to finalize their amazing job.

“We came to Austria aiming for a stage win and now we even have three. We can’t ask for more than this. For me and for rest of the team it is a big boost of confidence. I dedicate this win to the team, riders and staff, and to my friend Daniele,” added Ruffoni.

“The Tour of Austria really suits me. It’s my second stage win this season and the third victory for the team. My performance is strong and I look forward to the Tour of Poland next week.”

Young Austrian sprinter shows potential on home soil

"It was a quick stage with a lot of wind. 300 meters from the finish, I opened the sprint, unfortunately Ruffoni was on my rear wheel and passed me. Real shame, I wanted to win today, "runner-up Daniel Auer said.

Rasmus Guldhammer takes over from Gerald Ciolek in Austria

At the end of over 200 km of racing, Rasmus Guldhammer was Stölting’stop finisher in the bunch sprint to decide stage 6

With just two categorised climbs to tackle on the day, the race always looked like coming down to a bunch sprint. The team focused their efforts on getting Guldhammer into position for the finish but it didn’t work out for the Danish rider today.

“Normally this was a good stage for Gerald (Ciolek) with a few climbs before the finish to tire the sprinters,” explained Sports Director Gregor Willwohl. “However, as the stage went on he was not feeling good so we switched our focus to Rasmus for the sprint.”

Aggressive Alessandro Vanotti wins mountains jersey in Austria

“It was too bad with the crash with 600 meters to go,” said Astana’s Arman Kamyshev. “I had to brake and start again almost from zero.”

The new Kazakh road champion finished 14th in the sprint won by Italian Nicola Ruffoni.

"Alessandro Vanotti was also in the breakaway today,” explained sport director Alexander Shefer. “And managed to finally win the polka dot jersey. It 'a good result after his serious injury last winter.”

Austrian climber ready for home stage

The Lower Austrian rider Hermann Pernsteiner is in sixth position on GC.

"As tomorrow we will almost pass my doorstep, I am twice as motivated", the Amplatz BMC pro from Kirchschlag says.