Tour of Austria

02 08 July, 2. HC, Austria Austria’s national race barely registers given the thunder made by the Tour at the other end of the Alps, but there’s still a lot to commend in the ÖsterreichRundfahrt – not least its signature climb, the Kitzbüheler Horn. The 7.4km Mautstraße approach hits gradients in excess of 22 per cent and averages 12 per cent. Given the road – a narrow tarmac track, really – skips up the open Alpine grassland in tight hairpins with very short straights, it’s a natural amphitheatre. The Kitzbüheler Horn has been used 19 times in the race. On nine of those occasions the irst to the summit also won the race outright. Cadel Evans was the only rider to do that double twice, in 2001 and 2004. Last year, the climb was included in a 0.7km TT won by Drapac’s Will Clarke in a time of 70 seconds. It features this year on stage 7.