The 75th edition of the Lidl Tour of Austria gets underway in Graz next Wednesday. Six UCI WorldTeams will line up for the 845-kilometre stage race. But who are the favourites this year? Can the Austrian riders challenge for the overall victory? And Lidl–Trek has made a late addition featuring one of the sport’s biggest names.
Looking at the UCI rankings, the riders of UAE Team Emirates – XRG are among the leading favourites. Chief among them is 22-year-old Jan Christen, who enjoyed a remarkable weekend by claiming both the Swiss national time trial and road race titles. One of Switzerland’s brightest talents, Christen already secured overall victory at the AlUla Tour this season and has consistently delivered outstanding performances in major races. His teammate Benoît Cosnefroy, the former French national champion, also arrives with an impressive palmarès. At 30 years of age, he is one of the most experienced riders in the field. The third UAE rider targeting the general classification is 23-year-old Spaniard Igor Arrieta, who has enjoyed his breakthrough season. His dramatic stage victory at the Giro d’Italia remains unforgettable: after crashing on the rain-soaked roads into Potenza and later overshooting a corner, he remarkably caught the race leader again just metres before the finish line to take the win.
Lidl–Trek arrives with a star-studded squad
Alongside Tour de France stage winner Patrick Konrad, Lidl–Trek brings one of the strongest and most versatile teams in the race. The line-up includes Tao Geoghegan Hart, winner of the 2020 Giro d’Italia, veteran Bauke Mollema, winner of Il Lombardia, and Italian climber Andrea Bagioli, who is also considered a serious GC contender. Bagioli recently impressed at the Tour de Suisse, finishing third on the opening stage behind Tadej Pogačar and Richard Carapaz, and remained on course for an overall podium until the final stage, where he unfortunately had an off day. Lidl–Trek has now added another high-profile rider to its roster: Lennard Kämna. The 29-year-old had prepared for the Tour de France but narrowly missed selection. He is one of only a handful of riders to have won stages in all three Grand Tours – the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España.
Alongside newly crowned Austrian national champion Michael Gogl, Tibor Del Grosso is among the top favourites for Alpecin – Deceuninck. The 22-year-old Dutchman won the prologue of the Upper Austria Tour in Linz two years ago before adding several more victories to his name. Also in the squad is teammate Francesco Busatto, winner of the 2023 Liège–Bastogne–Liège Espoirs. For Netcompany INEOS, the strongest climber is expected to be 20-year-old American Andrew August, who finished runner-up on two stages behind Isaac del Toro at last year’s Tour of Austria before placing fifth overall in 2025. He will be joined by Luxembourg’s Bob Jungels, stage winner at both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France. The experienced rider has fond memories of Austria after winning the final stage of last year’s Tour of Austria in Feldkirch. At EF Education–EasyPost, Ecuadorian Jefferson Alexander Cepeda will lead the team’s GC ambitions. His overall victory at the 2024 Tour de l’Ain underlines his climbing credentials. For Team Jayco AlUla, featuring Austrian Patrick Gamper, Britain’s Paul Double will be the team’s main GC hope after claiming two overall stage race victories last season. One of the biggest hopes for Austrian Continental squad Team Vorarlberg is Swiss serial winner Colin Stüssi. Three years ago he sensationally won the Volta a Portugal, while this season he dominated the Tour of Małopolska. “Unfortunately, he hasn’t been feeling 100 per cent recently, but he’s hoping to make the start,” says Team Vorarlberg manager Thomas Kofler.
Austria’s chances
Five Austrian WorldTour professionals will compete in the 75th Lidl Tour of Austria: Michael Gogl, Patrick Konrad, Patrick Gamper, Rainer Kepplinger and Alexander Hajek. The country’s best hopes for a top general classification result are Lidl–Trek’s Patrick Konrad and Red Bull rider Alexander Hajek, who will lead the Austrian national team. Gogl, Gamper, Kepplinger, as well as Austrian riders Tim Wafler and Sebastian Putz, are expected to focus primarily on stage victories. As always, much attention will also be on 38-year-old Riccardo Zoidl of Hrinkow Advarics, the last Austrian to win the Tour of Austria back in 2013. Towering Philipp Hofbauer of Team Vorarlberg will be working in support of team leader Colin Stüssi. However, the 26-year-old demonstrated his climbing ability last year by finishing an impressive 15th overall.
Martin Messner of WSA KTM Graz has also recorded several Top 20 overall finishes in recent years. The 26-year-old Styrian is once again aiming for a strong GC result. Meanwhile, the young riders from the Austrian Continental teams ARBÖ Kärnten Sport Feld am See, Schwingshandl Intralogistics, and Tirol KTM Cycling Team will be looking to make their mark with strong individual performances throughout the race.
