Jan Hirt of CCC Sprandi Polkowice has won the Tour Of Austria.
The final stage was a 187.8 stage from Bad Tattsmanndorf to Vienna and saw a six rider break go clear early in the stage.
That group was reduced to four with twenty five left with a two minute advantage and they were reeled in by the time they hit the the final climb up to Kahlenberg in Vienna which has a twelve percent incline.
Team Wanty-Groupe Goubert took control and with three kilometres to go, Belgian Frederik Backaert got onto the cobbles and rode away to win in 3.23.34 and finish nine seconds ahead of Styrian rider Markus Eibegger with a victory that also gave him the "Flyeralarm“ points jersey.
Hirt finished safely in the peloton and said: "The final stage was very hard and stressful. Not only because of the last climb, but also due to strong crosswind throughout the day. Other teams tried to take advantage of that and launched attacks. We stayed at the head of the bunch though to bring attackers back in. In the end, on the climb I attempted to pull away, but my legs were not strong enough to go clear and decided to react to other moves.
"Today was harder than expected because of the strong headwind. And the final climb was hard as well. I won my first Tour and I am more than happy.
”I’m very happy about this win and the teamwork. Despite the fact that we had very young roster here in Austria, everything worked out perfectly for us. My teammates and the staff were great and everyone worked really hard for that victory. “