De la Parte wins overall title at Tour of Austria

Image 1 of 2

Victor de la Parte held off numerous attacks to bring home the yellow jersey on the final stage at the Tour of Austria Sunday, earning the biggest success in Team Vorarlberg’s 17-year history. De la Parte crossed the finish within the group behind the sprinters to secure his overall win. Ben Hermans (BMC Racing) finished runner-up with Jan Hirt (CCC-Sprandi-Polkowice) in third. Moreno Moser (Cannondale-Garmin) won the final stage, his first of the season.

“It’s simply sensational what the guys have done here,” Thomas Kofler said, directeur sportif for Team Vorarlberg. “Many teams have congratulated us. Victor is a deserved winner, with such a success that we never expected. I am proud.”

As it was throughout the week, riders attacked straight from the start looking to gain for one final day. The 184km stage for the finale included two categorized climbs, providing the opportunity for Cannondale-Garmin to take advantage. Several of their riders including Ben King, and Tom Jelte Slagter, drove the pace off the front, forcing a selection.

“We had options and the team knew it,” Directeur Sportif Johnny Weltz explained. “There were a lot of attacks and breakaways. It was to our benefit to race really hard – even if the race came back together at the end.”

The tight finale left Moser unsure if he had won as he streamed across the finish line. The Italian narrowly beat David Tanner (IAM Cycling) and Clément Venturini (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) for the win.

“I beat [Tanner] by 10 centimeters or something like this,” Moreno explained. “I wasn’t sure. I asked him: ‘Did I win or did you win?’ and that’s when he told me I had beaten him. Yesterday I did a good sprint for third, so I wanted to try today. I’m happy to repay my teammates.”

After nine days of intense racing, and two stage wins in as many days, De La Parte proved he was the supreme victor. The 29-year-old added, it was the best result of his career since he began with Caja Rural in 2011. The Spaniard was also the victor of the overall GC at Flèche du Sud this past May.

Full Results