Australian Cameron Rogers (Lidl-Trek) won the prologue of the Tour of Austria in St. Pölten on Tuesday, one second ahead of Italian top-time rider Filippo Ganna (Ineos). The 19-year-old nephew of former world champion Michael Rogers completed the winding 3 km in 3:38 minutes (49.5 km/h).
Felix Großschartner underlined his great ambitions by coming fifth, just over two seconds behind, as the fastest of the overall favorites. “I think that was definitely a good exclamation mark. I felt pretty good, the wind also made pacing important, I approached it smartly,” said Großschartner in an ORF interview.
The first stage of the 73rd Tour of Austria on Wednesday, with start and finish in Bad Tatzmannsdorf, covers 178 km and almost 2,000 meters of elevation through the hilly southern Burgenland. “The finale is pretty tricky, but we have a good team to ride at the front,” said the co-captain of the UAE team. Riccardo Zoidl (Felt-Felbermayr), who is also aiming for a top spot in the overall ranking, is already more than ten seconds behind Großschartner after finishing 82nd in the prologue.
