Second GC success of the season for Soudal Quick-Step Devo’s 20-year-old.
Henrique Bravo was crowned winner of the Oberösterreich Rundfahrt, becoming the first Brazilian rider to triumph at the Austrian race, which came to a conclusion Sunday afternoon, in Stift Aigen-Schlägl.
Our climber entered the final day of the competition with a nine-second lead on the general classification - a buffer built on the opening stage, which he won with a perfectly-timed attack - and successfully defended his yellow jersey thanks to a strong ride and an excellent display of his teammates, who impressed with the way they controlled the demanding final day.
In addition to finishing at the top of the overall ranking, Henrique also sealed the win in the youth classification, while Soudal Quick-Step Devo rounded out this perfect week of racing by winning the team standings - a remarkable achievement considering it was one of the youngest rosters at the start.
Today was a hard but nice stage and we all did a top job to secure the GC.
“We tried to play our cards the best we could and made sure of controlling the peloton in the final part, when attacks started flying left and right, and the bunch went full gas. I didn’t panic, as I felt good on the climbs and was never on the limit. I had a lot of confidence in what I could do and in my amazing squad, without whom this wouldn’t have been possible. I’m delighted with this triumph and with becoming the first Brazilian to win Oberösterreich Rundfahrt”, said an elated Henrique, who was joined in the top ten overall by Erazem Valjavec, eighth overall after this week in Austria.
Photo credit: ©Oberösterreich Rundfahrt
