Battling with the heat once again in the Tour of Austria
The 6th stage from Waidhofen/Ybbs to Melk was completed yet again in extreme temperatures. The race culminated in a mass sprint after 185 kilometers in a constant temperature of 35 degrees. Sacha Modolo of Team Colnago seized first place for a second time in this tour. Close behind him were Daniele Colli (Type 1) and Danilo Napolitano (Aqua e Sapone).
The general classification remains unchanged today. Jakob Fuglsang (Radioshack) is in the lead, ahead of Danilo Di Luca (Acqua e Sapone) and Steve Morabito (BMC). NetApp’s Marcel Wyss and Leopold Koenig have successfully maintained their positions.
The race began with a number of attacks. The peloton maintained a fast tempo, so a bigger group was only able to escape after 15 km. Matthias Braendle was once again in the breakaway group, along with Marcel Wyss. The Swiss NetApp rider holds the highest position in the GC out of the breakaway riders, and in 9th place he has a deficit of less than three minutes. Too risky for leading teams, who brought the breakaway riders back before the first climb of the day. In the expected mass sprint, Team NetApp were unable to advance significantly onto the scene.
“Today featured a dangerous finish, which ran downhill 400 m before the finish and pushed the riders to a speed of 80 to 90 km/h. At this speed the advance was really unstable and due to a misunderstanding in the peloton our tactic didn’t quite go according to plan, even though the guys were in an optimum position,“ explains Jens Heppner after the race.
The penultimate and decisive stage of the Tour of Austria will be the individual time trial in Podersdorf am Neusiedler See. The 24 km long stretch features a completely flat profile. Challenges will include the high summer temperature and strong winds on the flat stretch.
Start times:
13:14 Schillinger, Andreas
13:21 Benedetti, Cesare
13:35 Jarc, Blaz
13:54 Schorn, Daniel
13:57 Braendle, Matthias
14:39 Barta, Jan
14:57 Koenig, Leo
15:09 Wyss, Marcel
1 stage, 1 July: Innsbruck - Innsbruck
2 stage, 2 July: Innsbruck - Kitzbüheler Horn
3 stage, 3 July: Kitzbühel - Lienz
4 stage, 4 July: Lienz - St. Johann/Alpendorf
5 stage, 5 July: St. Johann/Alpendorf - Sonntagberg
6 stage, 6 July: Waidhofen/Ybbs - Melk
7 stage, 7 July: Podersdorf am Neusiedler See / ITT
8 stage, 8 July: Podersdorf am Neusiedler See - Vienna
Line-Up:
Jan Barta, Cesare Benedetti, Matthias Braendle, Blaz Jarc, Leo Koenig,
Andreas Schillinger, Daniel Schorn, Marcel Wyss
