Stefan Denifl (Aqua Blue Sport) was able to finish in the lead pack on the final stage and proudly took home the overall title in his home country at the 2017 Tour of Austria.
Denifl went into the final stage with a 37 second lead in the general classification over second place Delio Fernandez (Delko Marseille Provence), and was able to hold on, ending the Tour victorious by the same margin as he entered with.
Stage 6 saw a barrage of attack in the opening kilometers, as riders looked to take advantage of the early mountain climbs on the 203.9 kilometer stage.
A three-rider pack lead into the sprint in Bad Ischl, but were quickly caught by the peloton.
Despite a frenetic start to the final stage, the peloton stayed strong at the front during the second half of the day.
As the riders approached the finish line in Wels almost 204 kilometers from their departure in St. Johann Alpendorf, a lead pack of 35 riders prepared for the final push to the line.
Clement Venturini (Cofidis) was the strongest rider on the day, and was able to out-sprint Cannodale-Drapac rider Sep Vanmarcke at the line to capture the victory on a high-pace final day at this year's Tour of Austria.
Rounding out the top five on the stage were Ryan Gibbons (Dimension Data), Pim Lightart (Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij), and Ivan Savitskiy (Gazprom-RusVelo).
In addition to his second place finish on the stage, Sep Vanmarcke was able to put an impressive showing on the intermediate sprints to pick up 12 points and overtake Elia Viviani (Team Sky) in the Flyeralarm points classification. Vanmarcke led the Tour of Austria for three stages, and exuberantly donned the green jersey on the final day in Wels.
Pieter Weening (Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij) was another rider who put in a massive day in the saddle to pass Austrian rider Stephan Rabitsch (Felbermayr-Simplon-WELS) in the mountains classification. After being crowned "Glocknerkonig" for being the first rider to summit Hochtor on Stage 5, Weening displayed his climbing prowess once again on the final stage to capture the tricolor jersey as King of the Mountains at the 2017 Tour of Austria.
Team Dimension Data had a lot to celebrate in Wels, as the South African team took home the team classification title after Ryan Gibbons' third place showing on the final stage and Ben O'Connor's solid finish at fifth overall in the general classification.
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