The 75th anniversary edition of the Lidl Tour of Austria could hardly have started better for the home nation. Lower Austrian Gregor Mühlberger claimed victory in front of thousands of spectators in Gamlitz, Southern Styria, and will wear the Austrian national leader’s jersey on tomorrow’s Glockner stage. Austrian national champion Michael Gogl completed a strong home performance by finishing sixth.
As expected, the opening stage of the Lidl Tour of Austria from Graz to Gamlitz in Southern Styria proved to be a demanding start. Covering 188 kilometres and a challenging 2,716 metres of elevation gain, the route passed for the first time in the race’s 75-year history through the three renowned wine-growing regions of Schilcher, Sausal, and the Southern Styrian Wine Road.
The action began immediately after the start at Mariahilferplatz in Graz, with the first intermediate sprint in Voitsberg sparking an intense battle. Riders from the local Styrian team WSA KTM Graz were particularly eager to make the day’s breakaway. After around 40 kilometres, shortly before the first mountain classification on the Schilcher Wine Road, four riders successfully broke clear: Luxembourg’s Loic Bettendorff (Hrinkow Advarics), Germany’s Tobias Nolde (Team Vorarlberg), Tim Gloßner, and reigning German national road champion Mauro Brenner. Behind them, Christoph Holzer (WSA KTM Graz) and Czech rider Filip Lepka (Schwingshandl Intralogistics) attempted to bridge across, while the peloton quickly allowed the breakaway to build an advantage of more than eight minutes.
At the halfway point through the rolling hills of Southern Styria, famous for its sweeping views and spectacular scenery, Holzer and Lepka were reeled back in by the peloton as the WorldTour teams began to increase the pace. With 60 kilometres remaining before the finish in Gamlitz, where thousands of fans had already gathered, the gap had been reduced to five minutes and continued to shrink steadily.
After crossing the finish line for the first time in Gamlitz, the riders tackled a demanding 40-kilometre finishing circuit featuring several steep climbs through the vineyards. As the leading quartet gradually broke apart, the peloton closed to within two minutes. The decisive moves followed in quick succession: on the final major climb, as Nolde and Brenner were caught, a select group of eleven riders moved clear, including Austrian national team rider Gregor Mühlberger and national champion Michael Gogl.
Mühlberger Triumphs Solo
The leading group worked together until, with 11 kilometres to go, Gregor Mühlberger launched a decisive attack. The Salzburg-based Austrian quickly established a winning advantage and crossed the finish line in Gamlitz alone, securing victory by 11 seconds over Kevin Vermaerke (UAE Team Emirates XRG). Héctor Álvarez (Lidl–Trek) finished third, ahead of his teammates Bauke Mollema and Andrea Bagioli.
“The team did an outstanding job in our first race together. I had great legs right from the start and was able to make my move successfully in the finale. I just hope I didn’t push too deep ahead of tomorrow’s Glockner stage. I’m incredibly happy to win my first stage race victory and to wear the leader’s jersey,” said the delighted stage winner, who now leads the overall classification by 15 seconds over Vermaerke.
Austrian national champion Michael Gogl (Alpecin–Premier Tech) also delivered an impressive ride: “It was really tough, and luckily I had reconnoitred the stage beforehand. Congratulations to Gregor – he was by far the strongest rider today.”
Incidentally, the last Austrian national team rider to win a stage of the race was Hans-Peter Obwaller, who triumphed at Kitzbüheler Horn in 2002.
