Stage 3 of the 2017 Tour of Austria will depart from the town of Wieselberg, sitting on the Erlauf River in Lower Austria.
The route will take the peloton a daunting 226.2 kilometers, and will begin at an altitude of 231 meters. Riders will navigate the foothills of the Alps before ending at the city square in the town of Altheim.
The stage will include an intermediate sprint around halfway through, at the 123 km mark, before the riders face a series of three category 3 climbs. The route's highest point will come during the first category 3 climb, which heads for nearly 3 kilometers up an average gradient of 5.9% to 725 meters above sea level at Turmberg. A second intermediate sprint will occur 10 kilometers from the finish in Altheim.
While this route will involve a series of climbs, a breakaway will find it difficult to escape the peloton if the stage goes at a quick pace.
Cannondale-Drapac's Sep Vanmarcke will likely not be attacking for a stage victory, but will look for a strong finish at the front of the peloton in an attempt to retain his lead in the general classification.
Austrian Riders Stephan Rabitsch (Felbermayr-Simplon-WELS) and Felix Grossschartner (CCC Sprandi Polkowice) will be riders to watch out for. Rabitsch is currently leading the best Austrian rider title and sits in 3rd overall in the general classification standings as well.
Team Dimension Data's Daniel Teklehaimanot has moved up to 11th in the general classification standings, and is at home in the mountains. Teklehaimanot will likely be looking for an opportunity to attack on Stage 3 and put himself in contention for both the general classification and mountains classification title as the race moves closer to its finish in Wels on July 8th.
Stage 3 will begin at 11:00 local time, and is expected to finish in the Altheim city square approximately 5 hours after the peloton departs.
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