A completely unusual stage was held on the opening day of the Upper Austrian tour: a mass start mountain prologue. The stage took place in Linz, with the entire peloton starting the 5-kilometer distance simultaneously.
We could see Bálint Feldhoffer at the front of the peloton from the very beginning. After a few minor attacks, Máté Endrédi made the first significant move. Although Máté was caught by the favorites, the size of the group was noticeably reduced. At the start of the last 1000 meters, the Italian rider from Petrolike, Lorenzo Galimberti, attacked. In the final 100 meters, Bálint Feldhoffer closed in on Galimberti meter by meter but couldn’t quite catch him. Following his seventh-place finish in the TDH, Bálint now secures a second-place position for Team United Shipping.
Here’s Bálint’s assessment:
“I didn’t believe for a long time that it is possible to organize a mass start prologue, but I was really happy that I could follow other people’s wheels. Regarding the tactics, we were sure that the bunch will definitely going on full gas. We tried to stay ahead, and cause some trouble with an attack. Máté (Endrédi) did that. First place was close, but we are basically satisfied with second place, and it’s even better that we won’t have to control the next stages. The goal is the podium, or even the victory, but I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself, let’s see how my legs work in the next stages.”
📷Photos: Schöff Gergely