The Tour of Austria peloton tackled a 181 kilometer slightly mountainous stage between Windischgarsten and Gratwein where a breakaway threatened to take the glory. But again, the stage was concluded in a bunch sprint. And likewise, Troels Vinther demonstrated impressive skills in the finale.
Going into the finale, the front group started to split up while the peloton slowly but surely dragged the escapees back in. In the final 20 kilometers, the attacks from the bunch started flying and a new group of seven riders were thundering away towards the finish line. But as they started attacking each other, the average pace went down and the chasing pack soon inhaled them.
In the bunch sprint, CULT Energy Pro Cycling's Troels Vinther took his third consecutive top-10 result as he finished 9th. Rick Zabel (BMC Racing Team) won the stage.
Vinther says:
"I can only thank my teammates for putting me in this excellent position in the finale again and their effort at least partially explains my results in the past three days. However, I assure you that it'll be over tomorrow where we face a grueling uphill finish and I'll repay our climbers and support them as much as I can until the foot of the final climb."
DS André Steensen states:
"It was another very hot day on the road and the thermometer said 40 degrees, which made the stage extremely tough. We wanted to put Troels in a good position and when the seven escapees threatened to take it all, Gustav (Larsson) went to the front of the pack and helped bringing them back in. Tomorrow, we face a different kind of stage where we'll have to support our climbers until the finale with an uphill finish over 15 kilometers."
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