Gregor Mühlberger from the Austrian National Team continues to dominate the 75th Lidl Tour of Austria. On the iconic Grossglockner stage, he celebrated his second stage victory within 24 hours and reclaimed the title of King of the Grossglockner, a distinction he previously got in 2014. He also extended his overall lead to one and a half minutes while maintaining his dominance in both the mountains and points classifications.
To mark the 75th anniversary of the Lidl Tour of Austria, today’s stage from Bad Kleinkirchheim to the Kaiser Franz-Josef-Heights on the Grossglockner featured a special historical milestone at an altitude of 2,369 meters. Exactly 170 years ago, in 1856, Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth visited this spectacular viewpoint in the heart of Hohe Tauern National Park for the first time. Today, the question was: Who would crown himself the “Emperor of the Tour of Austria” by claiming both – the stage victory and the prestigious King of the Grossglockner title?
The second stage also marked a debut for Bad Kleinkirchheim as a host. Starting from the renowned winter sports resort, the riders tackled 188.8 kilometers and 2,914 meters of elevation gain before reaching the decisive 16.5-kilometer climb to the Kaiser Franz Josef Heights, featuring gradients of up to 14.3 percent. Remarkably, this legendary finish has appeared on the tour route only four times, in 1977, 1990, 2010 and now in 2026.
After approximately 50 kilometers nine riders established a a breakaway. Among them the Austrian riders Lukas Hatz (WSA KTM Graz) and Maximilian Schmidbauer (Schwingshandl Intralogistics), the German Tobias Nolde riding for Team Vorarlberg and the Carinthian team ARBÖ Kärnten Sport Feld am See represented by New Zealander Christian Rush. The peloton, led by the Austrian National Team protecting race leader Gregor Mühlberger, worked hard into strong headwinds through the Möll Valley: The leaders advantage grew to more than four minutes!
INEOS sets the Pace on the Grossglockner
By the time the riders reached the start of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, the breakaway had been caught and the race entered its decisive phase. Thanks to the relentless pace set by WorldTour squad Netcompany INEOS, the peloton quickly shrieked to just a handful of riders. Gregor Mühlberger was left to fend for himself after the opening switchbacks but impressively held his position among the leaders.
Over the final eight kilometers, a leading quartet emerged consisting of INEOS rider Carlos Rodríguez, Paul Double (Team Jayco AlUla), Bauke Mollema (Lidl–Trek), and an outstanding Gregor Mühlberger.
Mühlberger attacks ruthlessly
The decisive moment came 4.5 kilometers before finish. The 32-year-old Gregor Mühlberger launched an irresistible attack and crossed the finish line in front of thousands of spectators, winning by 1 minute and 10 seconds over 2nd – James Shaw (EF Education–EasyPost). Kevin Vermaerke (UAE Team Emirates XRG) finished third. 4rd Bauke Mollema (Lidl–Trek) missed the podium. Philipp Hofbauer of Team Vorarlberg also delivered an excellent performance finishing 13th becoming the 2nd best Austrian of the day.
“I’m absolutely delighted, even though the final kilometers felt incredibly long,” said Mühlberger after the finish. “The headwind played a huge role and the last 400 vertical meters were extremely demanding. I didn’t want to attack too early. Paul Double and I were cooperating over the final kilometers, but when he started to struggle I knew I had to seize the opportunity.”
“The team did an outstanding job today. I had full support from the very beginning, which saved me a lot of energy. Over the next few days, we’ll work together to keep our rivals under control.“ he proudly praised his teammates.
Leaders jerseys of the Lidl Tour of Austria
In the overall standings, Gregor Mühlberger now leads Kevin Vermaerke by 1:31 .3rd Bauke Mollema just another ten seconds behind. Mühlberger also tops both the Škoda Points Classification and the Mautner Markhof Mountains Classification. Andrew August of Netcompany INEOS will wear the DAN Küchen jersey for the first time as Best Young Rider tomorrow, while Philipp Hofbauer (Team Vorarlberg) will wear the Gebrüder Weiss jersey as the best Austrian rider.
Stage 3: Lienz to St. Johann/Alpendorf
Lienz, the cycling-crazy region of East Tyrol, hosts tomorrow’s third stage of the Lidl Tour of Austria, covering 189.5 kilometers and 2,315 meters of climbing. The race starts at 10:40 a.m. in Lienz’s main square before crossing the Felbertauern Pass into the province of Salzburg. The traditional uphill finish in St. Johann/Alpendorf will feature in the Tour for the 16th time. The final climb measures 2.6 kilometers with gradients reaching up to 14.8 percent. Riders are expected to finish from approximately 2:50 p.m.
