Astana's Fredrik Kessiakoff seized his first professional victory today in stage two of the Tour of Austria. The Swedish rider conquered the mountain top finish of the Kitzbüheler Horn with over a minute in hand on BMC Racing's Mauro Santambrogio and Team NetApp's Leopold König. Just seconds later Carlos Sastre (Geox-TMC) crossed the line with a solid performance.
"I've felt very well since the last training camp at altitude, the legs are there," Kessiakoff said after his win. "Yesterday evening I studied the route of the stage and saw the mountainous profile and I felt that it could suit me.
"The team worked very well to put me in good position before the mountain, then after a kilometer of climbing the attacks started. I got into a group and decided not to respond to attacks," he explained, "I preferred to keep my own rhythm." It turned out to be the right decision for the Swede, who powered across the line alone. "It was wonderful," he said.
Kessiakoff now leads the overall standings in the Tour of Austria by 1 minute 18 seconds over Santambrogio. "I am proud to wear the leader's jersey, and of course, we will do everything to defend it! We have a good team here. We are all in good shape and we will give the maximum, but it won’t be so easy."
As soon as stage three hit the roads of Innsbruck the attacks began. It wasn't long before a group of nine riders distanced themselves from the peloton. The move included Yann Huguet (Skil-Shimano), Julien Fouchard (Cofidis), Nicholas Edet (Cofidis), Daryl Impey (Team NetApp), Diego Caccia (Farnesi Vini - Neri Sottoli), Reto Hollenstein (Team Vorarlberg), Simon Clarke (Astana), Jan Ghyselinck (HTC-Highroad) and Manuele Boaro (Saxo Bank-Sungard).
The escape managed to stay in front, but the peloton made sure to keep them within reach. The leaders reached the day's final test, the Kitzbüehler Horn, with 2 minutes advantage over the peloton. With the 7.1 kilomteter test averaging a 12.5 percent gradient, their chance for success was remote at best.
It was the flying Astana rider that showed the race his talent, as the former mountain biker rode away from the rest and finished the day with a smart advantage to snag the leader's jersey from RadioShack's Robbie Hunter.
Sastre, who was on a good day, said he was satified with the way the stage played out. "I wanted to attack but the swede passed me easily," the Geox-TMC leader admitted. "He had a great race. As for me I could´t go faster."
Tomorrow's stage three will see the riders take in 174.5 kilometers from Kitzbühel to Prägraten am Großvenedigerm, with three categorized climbs on offer.