Ricco rolls to solo stage win

Riccardo Ricco charged up the Kitzbüheler Horn to win the second stage of the Tour of Austria, also taking over the leader's jersey. The Ceramica Flamina rider beat CarmioOro's Emanuele Sella and Sergio Pardilla by 53 seconds.

“It means a lot to me to have won this important stage today,” Ricco said. “It is still a long way to Vienna and we won't know the overall winner until after the time trial on Saturday.”

Shortly after the start of the race, Michael Schär (BMC), Giampaolo Cheula (Footon-Servetto) and Edoardo Giraradi (Ceramica Flaminia) broke away. They stayed clear for nearly 170 kilometres, getting caught again within sight of the closing 7.6 km climb up the much-feared Kitzbüheler Horn.

The field went to the foot of the climb together, but then immediately fell apart. A small group formed around Ricco, but he was able to keep the pace high enough to drop the others easily.

Full Results