Ladies and gentlemen, hello once again to beautiful Austria! We're on half-time-day, and the half-way point of today's stage - therefore really the middle of the race - will be on the highest point of this whole Tour of Austria!
However, the riders will have a rather easy start, with the first about 30km slightly descending. The start line is in Matrei in East Tyrol, yet another market village, of about 4,500 inhabitants. Tourism - throughout the whole year - and agriculture are the main economic sectors, with a plethora of churches and chapels all over the region being the main sights.
Before tackling the 3rd - and final - HC climb of the race, we'll have a 2nd category warm-up climb to Iselsberg, with the KoM sprint after 39.1 kilometers. After a short descent, an ascending false flat will lead the riders up to the foot of today's main obstacle - thereby taking the first intermediate sprint in Döllach, after 55.3km.
Once arrived in Heiligenblut, the riders will take the Grossglockner High Alpine Road for the next about 50 kilometers. Don't be afraid, the road won't lead the riders up to Austria's highest mountain (3,798m), but "only" over two Passes. The Hochtor Pass is the first one, as we're coming from the South - and as we reach just over 2,500m above sea level, this one definitely deserves the HC category! 79.8km will be covered by then - OK, it's slightly more than half of the stage, but still...
Only 6km later, we'll reach Fuscher Törl, the second pass, which is "only" 2,428m above sea level. I don't really get why this is a category 2 climb, being that short, but it's probably because of the elevation...
By then, all the major difficulties of this Österreich-Rundfahrt will be done, and the riders can enjoy the downhill to Fusch. For most of what's resting of the stage, the riders will follow the Salzach - down the valley, of course. And they will pick up some more intermediate sprint points en route, as they reach Taxenbach, after 123.7km.
But the stage won't be flat until the very end: once we arrive in St. Johann im Pongau, the riders will have to tackle the final ascent up to Alpendorf, St. Johann's ski resort. It's a short climb, but whoever's legs are tired after the big mountain mid-stage will have to watch out for not losing time here! One thing is sure: they will well deserve their stay in one of the four- or five-star hotels in Alpendorf, and probably take a close look at the spas tonight!
However, first they have to deliver. Given the character of the stage, it's hard to come up with a list of favorites; it will depend on how the long climb is ridden. The bookies think that the strong climbers will take it, though, as they list Pluchkin, Cattaneo and Wellens on top, followed by Eastman, Denifl, Uran, Carthy, Henao Montoya, Guldhammer and Intxausti. Time will tell if they're right...
The reporter has got great memories of this same stage last year, as Fausto Masnada won in Alpendorf from a breakaway group. Martin was the strongest from the pack, ahead of Penasa - let's see what happens today!
This picture says it all about today's main theme: mountains! Let's see if everyone makes the time limit - if they can stay inside the pack until the start of the big climb, they should be OK.
The weather is perfect - blue skies and no wind - now it's up to the riders to make it their perfect race, too!
It takes not even two kilometers until we have the first attacks! But while Flaksis and Kortsidakis probably just want to gain some advantage ahead of today's main obstacle, Roson is surely targetting the stage win!
This could be the case as well for Rodriguez Galindo, Rhim, Ivanov and Eenkhoorn, while Ostergaard's only realistic goal could be to get rid of the red lantern. He needs to gain about 4 minutes on Ciolek to do so.
Barbero and Barthe are next, trying to get their respective teams a numerical advantage in the breakaway - equalling Minions' headcount.
We then have an Adastra duo on the attack, with Stoenchev and Higuita. Pedrero and Carretero Millan are trying to further strengthen their teams' presence up front.
But it still ain't over yet! Fernandez, Fouche, Mosca, Pantano Gomez and the Cuban and Mauritian champions Martinez and Le Court try to break free as well.
Things are finally calming down, and it's mainly the sprinters taking over in the pack. Vaquera leads them ahead of Goldstein, Golovash, Pokälä, Maksimov, KoM leader Scheit and Juodvalkis. The German is taking a lot of risk by not joining the breakaway today - with 40 KoM points at stake, he'll need some luck to defend that jersey!
After about 25 kilometers - hence already towards the end of the descending false flat - the attackers have finally merged into one big group - including 20 riders. Let's take a look at them:
Pantano Gomez and Roson are the strongest climbers, both being the leaders of their respective teams (on paper). However, the latter is much stronger on the hills and has way better acceleration, which might come in handy on the final ascent.
Ivanov, Pedrero, Fernandez and Martinez are one level below on the long climbs, with Fernandez being the strongest on the hills. However, Rodriguez Galindo is an even better puncheur, although slightly weaker in the high mountains.
We then have a bunch of U25 riders, consisting of Higuita, Rhim, Eenkhoorn and Carretero Millan. Mosca is an equally strong climber, but he's not U25 anymore - instead, he's a way better puncheur.
Finally, Barthe and Fouche have mountain stats of more than 70 as well, with the former moreover being a good puncheur with a strong kick.
Le Court and Barbero whill have to hope for the group to take it easy on the long climb - then they might have their chances on the final uphill, both having some good punch. Stoenchev and Kortsidakis don't like the uphills that much, and while the former can at least support his teammate up front, Berg Cycles may just have sent the wrong man in the group.
And last but not least, Flaksis and Ostergaard will suffer anyway - be it up front or back in the pack. Chances are really high they won't be able to keep up with this group once the climbing really starts.
Too many names? Let's try to get an overview:
Roson
Pedrero
Mosca
Barbero
Ivanov
Martinez
Flaksis
Rodriguez Galindo
Barthe
Higuita
Stoenchev
Eenkhoorn
Carretero Millan
Pantano Gomez
Fernandez
Rhim
Fouche
Le Court
Kortsidakis
Ostergaard
The peloton currently trails by 3'34". Pantano Gomez currently is the best positioned rider in the GC, trailing by 7'56" - no big danger for the leaders right now. Barthe is 9th in the U25 standings, but almost 12 minutes off the lead.
In terms of KoM points, only Mosca (10) and Roson (6) already are on the scoresheet - and should therefore have decent chances of taking over the jersey tonight!
In an instant, it will be time for the warm-up climb to Iselsberg. Slightly more than 7 kilometers long, and a bit more than 7% of average slope - a good one to get a feeling for what's yet to come.
Let's see if the group already breaks up here!
Barthe is leading the escapees as they reach the first slopes of that hill. 10 points are on offer on top, so nobody can take over the jersey here yet.
The peloton starts the climb 5'16" later, meaning that the virtual red lantern has meanwhile switched to Ciolek.
Fouche launches a pretty long-range attack, with still 2km of climbing to go - and while Minions managed to place all their three riders up front, all other teams who had multiple riders in the group are left with just one - Roson, Rodriguez Galindo, Higuita and Eenkhoorn.
And Fouche insists further, breaking the group up even more! Well, it probably wasn't a good idea to stay behind Flaksis, as the gap opened right ahead of him, seeing Fouche, Fernandez, Pantano Gomez, Rhim, Ivanov, Martinez and Le Court break free!
Without much surprise, Fouche couldn't pull it through, and doesn't even score on top. Fernandez easily takes maximum points, with Ivanov and Martinez outsprinting a rather inattentive Rhim.
Fouche and Le Court trail by 22", while all the others have regrouped and cross the line 48" down - they would catch up again on the ascending false flat following the downhill.
Moazemi leads the pack over the line half an eternity later - more precisely 8'28" behind the leaders, meaning that Pantano Gomez has meanwhile taken over the virtual race lead!
But as soon as the roads are flatter again, the pack starts seriously chasing - why it's Hodeg doing so however remains an open question, having three teammates up front! A few instants before, Garcia Cortina was pulling the pack - having himself two teammates in the breakaway as well... Maybe Pantano Gomez' advantage was a bit too much for them, so they want to protect Uran's and Latour's GC places?
In each case, the gap has rapidly dropped to 7 minutes!
The points at the first intermediate sprint in Döllach are undisputed; Fouche takes the maximum.
The peloton, led by Zabel at this point, has further reduced its deficit to 5'45"!
Soon after the sprint, the leaders will tackle the main obstacle of the whole race - up to the Hochtor tunnel on the Grossglockner Alpine Road. The 7.7% average gradients are slightly misleading, as there's a 1km downhill about half-way up the climb, with the toughest slopes following in the second half. Let's see if this one makes some riders crack - both up front and back in the pack!
Here we go, the climb is on! Rhim leads the group, while the leaders of the teams with multiple riders are at the back - they might want to move up before the group breaks apart!
In the previous image, we saw that the three Minions were not working, either - this is because their teammates are still leading the pack! Bjerg is in first position as they reach the first slopes, 5'15" later. However, as long as it's just the Dane setting the pace, nobody will really be afraid of a big split...
Actually, the first one to be dropped is Hodeg, who did a lot of work before. Let's hope their strategy will not just break their own riders, but actually bring some fruit...
And by the way, the gap is again growing, given that it's still "just" Bjerg leading the pack. At least, Bostner takes over little later - without going full gas, though.
Meanwhile, the first riders are shed from the breakaway, and as expected, it's Flaksis and Ostergaard who have to let go. Let's see if the Dane finally retains the red lantern...
That might not be the case, as his closest rival Ciolek is dropped as well, along with Schomber, Goldstein, Verona, Havik, Maksimov and Robert. But they're almost half-way up the climb already, so with 80km to go, the time limit shouldn't be a factor today.
Half of the climb is done by the breakaway, as they're heading into the short intermediate descent. They can see the 5km banner up there - well knowing that they'll have to do again all that elevation gain they're losing now...
Just before the pack reaches this point, Flaksis is reeled in, and Ostergaard will share the same fate soon. The gap has slightly decreased again and now seems to be rather stable at around 5 minutes. But neither group is going full gas right now.
With slightly more than 2km of climbing to go, there's a split in the front group! And apparently, Roson, Eenkhoorn and Higuita haven't been attentive, as they've been dropped together with Le Court, Pedrero and Mosca! Roson is trying to close the gap again - let's see if that works out!
But up front, Pantano Gomez has now launched the sprint for the points - 20 await the first on top! Fernandez, the winner of the first KoM sprint of the day, is on his wheel - he could come as close as 1 point to Scheit by winning this one as well! Rhim and Rodriguez Galindo are the only ones able to keep up, with Fouche and Ivanov leading the chase behind.
Pantano Gomez was clearly the strongest, taking full points on the Hochtor Pass. Fernandez will still be happy with 2nd place, though! Rodriguez Galindo has overtaken Rhim to take 3rd place.
Ivanov has left behind Fouche, who in turn is caught by Mosca and Roson, who have made their way back after having been caught off-guard! Higuita, Eenkhoorn and Pedrero pick up the final points.
So let's get an overview of the full points distribution:
Which means that both Pantano Gomez and Fernandez can still take the KoM jersey - if they arrive 1st and 2nd in this order on the next climb, they would even share the lead!
As the former breakaway group is scattered all over the place now, let's try to get an overview by taking a look at the current timings:
Pantano Gomez
Fernandez
+ 21"
Rodriguez Galindo
Rhim
+ 47"
Ivanov
+59"
Fouche
Mosca
Roson
+ 1'20"
Higuita
+ 2'08"
Eenkhoorn
+ 2'41"
Pedrero
+ 3'04"
Martinez
Barthe
Carretero Millan
Stoenchev
Barbero
Le Court
Kortsidakis
+ 6'33"
Peloton (107 riders)
So the acceleration towards the top has clearly made the gap jump up again - and with only a short counterslope (still rewarded with category 2 KoM points), a downhill and a long descending false flat left - for a total of 70 kilometers - that advantage may well be enough!
Let's take a look at the pack that is falling apart. Individual riders, smaller or larger groups are scattered all over the place. The strongest climber to be dropped so far is Tatarinov (43rd GC), but pretty much all others are far weaker than him on the uphills.
It's really not a long way up to the Fuscher Törl Pass, but let's still take a look at the profile. It will probably basically be a long sprint for the two leaders - and whoever arrives on top first will probably get the KoM jersey!
And here they already are! Pantano Gomez is again leading, as he already did on the previous KoM sprint. Fernandez couldn't hold his wheel then - has he recovered enough on the short downhill to outsprint the Colombian?
Not only was Fernandez stronger than Pantano Gomez, the latter was even overtaken by Rodriguez Galindo who was the fastest man on this climb! Rhim finishes close behind as well, meaning that we'll have a leading group of four riders on the downhill.
Ivanov would pick up the final points 48" later, which leads to the following result:
Fernandez therefore takes over the KoM jersey from Scheit, leading the standings by 3 points now. Pantano Gomez moves up to 3rd place.
Here we get a great overview of the remaining breakaway riders, with the duo Roson - Mosca about to cross the line, and the last group just starting the climb. Let's take a look at the timings:
Fernandez
Pantano Gomez
Rodriguez Galindo
Rhim
+ 48"
Ivanov
+ 1'25"
Roson
Mosca
+ 1'49"
Higuita
+ 2'04"
Fouche
+ 2'44"
Eenkhoorn
+ 3'09"
Pedrero
+ 3'52"
Le Court
Kortsidakis
+ 4'48"
Martinez
Barthe
Carretero Millan
Stoenchev
Barbero
+ 6'59"
Peloton (73 riders)
Let's see if some of these riders and groups will regroup on the long downhill - and if the pack finally ups the pace a little!
It doesn't look too fast back here. Domagalski is setting a decent pace, but surely still not going full gas. Maybe the strategy is to keep as many helpers around as possible - with a headcount of above 70, that should be the case. Let's see what they can do on the final 65 kilometers now - the first thing they'll do is to reel in that group of 5 right ahead!
The frontrunners have clearly slowed down after the descent, allowing for Ivanov to catch up quite quickly. Roson and Mosca aren't far behind anymore, either.
Pedrero, Eenkhoorn and Fouche are now riding together as well, chasing Higuita, while Le Court has left behind Kortsidakis. The peloton is still two minutes behind the Greek.
Le Court finally decided to wait for Kortsidakis - which might have been the wrong strategy, as both are soon caught by the now raging pack, led by Velasco.
Up front, Mosca, Roson and Higuita all have made the catch, which leaves just Pedrero, Eenkhoorn and Fouche in between the leaders and the peloton. They're trailing by one minute, with the pack 4'28" behind the front of the race - 30 kilometers left!
The intermediate sprint in Taxenbach isn't contested, either, and so Roson just happens to take maximum points:
Pedrero, Eenkhoorn and Fouche are just a few meters down by this point, and it looks as if they could come back again - making it three Repsol - Netflix riders up front!
The pack is still 3'26" behind - with just 25km remaining, that gap will be really hard to close now!
Under the 20km banner, the trio has indeed made the catch - meaning we now have 11 riders up front. With still 3'13" of advantage, it's pretty likely that the stage winner will come from this group, so let's get an overview again:
Roson
Mosca
Pedrero
Pantano Gomez
Ivanov
Higuita
Rhim
Rodriguez Galindo
Eenkhoorn
Fernandez
Fouche
Repsol - Netflix now really have a great chance of winning this one - if they play their numbers well enough!
Roson then launches the first attack on the descending false flat, with still 13.5km to go! It remains to be seen if sending the (on paper) strongest rider up front really pays off...
Higuita is trying to respond, but doesn't seem to be able to hold the Spaniard's wheel!
Under the 10km arc, Roson still has a 16" advantage - however, the chasers seem to be in control, letting the attacker waste his remaining energy. But Mosca and Pedrero are surely ready to go next if their teammate should be caught...
Dulanjana leads the pack at the same point - but they're still 2'52" down, meaning they will very likely not be competing for the stage win, just like last year!
5 kilometers to the line - and it's still a 16" gap between Roson and the 10 chasers! The decisive part is yet to come, though, with the final 2 kilometers leading uphill!
And here's the profile of the final (uncategorized) ascent - 2 kilometers, and 7% steep on average - a great chance for the stronger puncheurs in the group! Or just for whom has most left in the tank, after a pretty tough stage...
Roson's advantage hasn't changed on the last 3 kilometers, either, so he still takes that 16" advantage into the decisive uphill!
The peloton still trails by more than 2'30", so that's really no danger anymore!
Ivanov has taken the lead in the chasing group - and he catches Roson just under the red kite! Now Mosca and Pedrero need to move up fast if they want to save the day for the team!
Pantano Gomez currently is in 2nd position, ahead of Eenkhoorn, Rhim, Rodriguez Galindo, Fernandez, Pedrero, Higuita, Mosca and Fouche - while Roson can probably be ruled out after his effort!
800m to go, as Ivanov still leads ahead of Pantano Gomez! Eenkhoorn has dropped back behind Rhim, alongside Rodriguez Galindo and Mosca, who has left behind Fernandez. Pedrero, Roson, Higuita and Fouche are at the back of the group.
The peloton - although quite well visible already - still trails by 2'36", so the stage win is definitely out of reach for them.
Fouche doesn't seem to have much left, as a small gap opens ahead of him. Higuita follows a tired Roson's wheel, who in turn is right behind teammate Pedrero.
Fernandez and Rodriguez Galindo are neck-and-neck now, with Eenkhoorn slightly ahead. Up front, Rhim and Pantano Gomez are closing in on Ivanov, as is Mosca some inches further behind!
Martin took the first spot from the pack last year, and he wants to do the same this time! He's the first to launch his long sprint, ahead of Latour. Carthy and Penasa try to follow, just like Uran and Henao Montoya.
To their right, we see Scheit and Denz, while the "big guns" are slightly further down the road.
Ivanov still holds onto his lead with just 300m to the line! Rhim is fading, as is Pantano Gomez to a lesser extent - but Mosca is currently moving fastest! He had such a bad position under the red kite - can he still win here?
Eenkhoorn then tries to catch Mosca's wheel, while Pedrero seems to finally be up to his top-speed and now tries to follow the Dutchman!
Rodriguez Galindo and Fernandez are rather falling behind - but with a strong kick, either could still challenge for the stage podium!
Higuita and Roson likely are out of contention, while Fouche has been definitely dropped.
200m to go! Ivanov is still ahead, but Mosca has now clearly moved into 2nd position, while Pantano Gomez is losing ground! Rhim, Eenkhoorn and Rodriguez Galindo are still challenging for a podium spot, while Pedrero and Fernandez don't seem to have enough left for a late push.
Higuita and Roson are now definitely distanced, while the peloton reaches the final kilometer as well.
Just 100m left, and now it's neck-and-neck between Ivanov and Mosca - with both doing an amazing job, one pulling the whole way long, and the other moving up a lot of spots on these final 1,000 meters!
Behind, Pantano Gomez really needs to fight hard for the final podium spot, while Eenkhoorn has already moved ahead of Rhim! Rodriguez Galindo and Pedrero seem to be fighting for 6th only.
It's Borislav Ivanov! The Bulgarian counters Jacopo Mosca's attack, throwing his bike over the line a few inches ahead of the Italian!
But who will claim the final podium spot? Eenkhoorn has got a great speed and is now neck-and-neck with Pantano Gomez - can the latter counter just like Ivanov did?
No, he can't, and so it's youngster Pascal Eenkhoorn who gets 3rd place today! Jarlinson Pantano Gomez has to settle for 4th, ahead of Brendan Rhim, Antonio Pedrero, Michael Rodriguez Galindo, Ruben Fernandez and Sergio Higuita.
Now we're waiting for the final two escapees - or will the pack actually arrive first?
At least, they're now moving really fast, with Martin still in the lead. Latour and Uran follow, while Carthy and Scheit are still in the first positions as well.
On the other hand, Wellens is only around 10th position - while Pluchkin is even further back! They could be at risk of losing some valuable seconds today!
Meanwhile, a disappointed Jaime Roson crosses the finish line 43" after the winner, getting the final Top 10 spot of the day. His team took 2nd, 6th and 10th - surely no bad result, but given their numerical advantage, they should definitely have taken the stage win!
James Fouche arrives ahead of the pack as well, finishing 1'17" behind the stage winner.
With 500m to the line, Martin is still going strong! And while Scheit and Uran have lost some ground, Latour, Carthy and Penasa are looking really good. Denifl is pulling Wellens, trying to move up as far as possible while Pluchkin is that far back!
But it's actually not just Pluchkin, as Cattaneo is riding right alongside him, and Eastman is only a few meters ahead, too. They will have to hope the group remains more or less intact and hence would get the same time!
Martin is still leading the peloton on the final meters (with Fouche finishing right now), but Carthy and Latour are trying to pass him now.
Finally, Latour was the strongest, taking 12th place. Martin "only" takes 2nd place of the bunch this year - but given that it's not even a Top 10 anyway, that probably won't hurt so much.
Denz, Carthy, Scheit, Denifl, Wellens, Squire and Penasa complete today's Top 20 - with Uran dropping all the way down to 25th, right ahead of Pluchkin! All GC favorites get the same time, though, losing 1'52" on the winner.
And that winner is... Borislav Ivanov! Minions had three riders in the breakaway, and definitely had the better strategy than Repsol - Netflix, who have to be content with Jacopo Mosca's second place. Well done!
That holds as well for Pascal Eenkhoorn, who had a great finish claiming 3rd place, already showing his great talent now!
GC-wise, we finally had no notable changes, as could somewhat be expected given today's profile. Hence, Aleksandr Pluchkin still leads 20" ahead of Tim Wellens and 52" ahead of Stefan Denifl.
If they want to attack the leader, they'll have to do so tomorrow, as the Moldovan should be clearly stronger in the closing time trial. But beware, as the winner of stage 5 last year was... You guessed it.
By the way, Ostergaard succeeded in getting rid of the red lantern - Ciolek now has it by almost 10 minutes...
And Aleksandr Pluchkin keeps the points jersey, too, while Florian Scheit still sits in 2nd place. Both of them scored no points today, so they still have a total of 38 and 33 respectively.
In 3rd place, with 32 points, we now have today's runner-up Jacopo Mosca. With three stages left, anything is possible - but Pluchkin probably being among the top favorites on two of them is quite a good situation for him.
It's a good situation as well for Ruben Fernandez, who was the strongest in the KoM sprints today, thereby claiming the lead in the overall standings! He now has a total of 34 points, leading 3 points ahead of Florian Scheit and 6 points ahead of Jarlinson Pantano Gomez.
Tomorrow is the final day with KoM points at stake - let's see if he can defend it!
Just like in the GC, there were not many changes in the U25 standings, with Joseph Areruya still leading Kyeng Ho Min by 57" and Orluis Aular by 5'35".
However, Dulanjana, who trailed Aular by a single second pre-stage, did a lot of work and finally lost some ground, leaving Schleck as the only serious competitor for the final podium spot.
No changes as well in the team standings; even though Repsol - Netflix were clearly the best team today, they're so far back that it doesn't really matter.
Hence, Kraftwerk Man Machine still lead 3'12" ahead of DK - SVA Zalgiris, with MOL trailing by 4'15".
And so ends the final mountain stage of the Österreich-Rundfahrt. Tomorrow's hilly stage is the final realistic opportunity for the uphill specialists to gain some positions ahead of the closing time trial - let's find out who plans to do a gutsy move! See you then!
Int. Österreich-Rundfahrt 
