Six young wolves are ready for this week’s race.
Our feeder team kicks off the month of June in Austria, at the 17th edition of the Oberösterreich Rundfahrt, a four-day stage race which will bring the climbers to the fore as early as the opening stage. A 4.3km opening stage, featuring a 3km climb whose average gradient exceeds 7%, will create the first gaps between the general classification contenders on Thursday.
The next two stages should belong to the sprinters and punchers before the climbers return to the spotlight for the last day of the competition, held over the demanding up and down roads around Stift Aigen-Schlägl. A total of nine climbs will be on the menu, the last of these coming in the last 12 kilometers. The fact that from the top of the Präuer - the final ascent - only a fast descent and nine kilometers separate them from the finish promises to add even more flavor to the fight between the favorites.
The rider who brought one of Brazil’s most important successes in recent years, Henrique Bravo will return to action for the first time since Liège-Bastogne-Liège U23. The Tour of Antalya overall winner will be joined by Federico Savino, runner-up at the Tour de Bretagne one month ago, Paris-Roubaix top ten finisher Jasper Schoofs, Gauthier Servranckx, Viktor Soenens, and Erazem Valjavec.
The Devo team has had a strong season so far and we’d like to continue on this path also in Austria.
“However, for these riders, it will be the first race back after an altitude training camp, so it remains to be seen how things will go. On paper, the course suits Henrique, especially on the first and the last day, but also the other guys can try something and fight for some good results. We’ll just take it stage by stage and see how the race unfolds”, explained Soudal Quick-Step Devo sports director Eliot Lietaer.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
