From July 2 to 8, the Tour of Austria (Österreich-Rundfahrt, UCI 2.1) wheeled through the home country of team Vorarlberg. Due to various stages, i.e. a prolog, demanding mountain- and sprinter-friendly flat stages, different types of riders got the chance to present themselves well. Team Vorarlberg did so and was, according to the team’s management, “surely one of the most active teams in the field of all in all 140 riders.“ Despite the strong competition, two riders made it into the top 20, the team finished sixth overall in the team ranking.
The tour started bumpy for the young Austrian team on STEVENS Comet Team Edition, though. In the prolog, Patrick Schelling suffered a technical defect and lost valuable minutes. On the first stage the field got torn apart by a crash so that the riders of team Vorarlberg didn’t have a chance anymore to catch the leading group.
Then the tide turned: On the fast stage from Vienna to Pöggstall, the young Swiss Fabian Lienhard attacked, powered ahead solo in the direction of the finish line and was caught only shortly before the end of the stage. Team captain Patrick Schelling had shaken off his misfortune of the prolog and finished on 11th position.
On the third stage, the team acted quite aggressively – young novice Maximilian Hammerle rode with the leading group and won a mountain category. Also very impressive were the strong attacks of Gian Friesecke and Reinier Honig as well as Fabian Lienhard’s tenth place on the third stage before Kitzbüheler Horn was awaiting the riders on stage four.
With Patrick Schelling, Daniel Geismayr and Sebastian Baldauf as many as three riders rode in the leading group. Though it seemed to have been one attack to many for team captain Schelling – he finished on 11th position –, the team presented themselves in a strong manner also on this day. This showed in a fifth place in the overall team ranking as well as in the individual rankings 15 to 17 for Schelling, Geismayr and Baldauf.
A performance that the team confirmed on the demanding Glockner stage with 4,500 vertical meters. They rode over the mountains with the Yellow Jersey and only lost the podium in the final. Though the big success stories the young team have been hoping for were not written, the Vorarlberg riders presented themselves in a very consistent manner and demonstrated how much potential they’ve got: on the final stage Gian Friesicke finished on rank 8.
In the overall ranking, Patrick Schelling finished the tour on position 14 and Daniel Geismayr on 16th place – two riders of team Vorarlberg in the top 20 of this highly competitive field. And the team can be very happy with its sixth place in the overall team ranking. The team management summarizes: “A performance that was fun.“
The 2017 Tour of Austria was won by Austrian rider Stefan Denifl ahead of Spain’s Delio Fernandez Cruz and Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno from Columbia.
The team will be spending some days training in the altitude of Serfaus before the riders will participate in Rad am Ring at Nürburgring, in Arlberg race and in the stage race Volta Portugal.