Home Victory! Mühlberger rides away from rivals at Tour opener

Gregor Mühlberger has won the first stage of the Tour of Austria.

On the 188-kilometer route from Graz to Gamlitz, the Decathlon pro launched the decisive attack eleven kilometers before the finish line and rode solo to victory. The 32-year-old from Team Austria secured an eleven-second lead.

Thus, the Lower Austrian will start Thursday's queen stage, with its finish at the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe, in the red jersey of the overall leader.

Mühlberger beamed: "I'm really happy, it makes me incredibly proud. My team put me in a top position on the climb. There was a lot of risk involved, because I didn't know what the others still had in them."

Michael Gogl finished in sixth place as the second-best Austrian, while Patrick Konrad crossed the finish line in 14th.