Sprint win for Bertagnolli

Leonardo Bertagnolli outsprinted his four late breakaway rivals to win the third stage of the Tour of Austria.

Team Sky duo stay in the hunt

Leonardo Bertagnolli outsprinted his four late breakaway rivals to win the third stage of the Tour of Austria. The Androni Giocattoli rider had jumped clear of the pack with Matthew Busche (RadioShack), Ruslan Pidgornyy (ISD-Neri) and Egor Silin (Katusha) inside the final five kilometres but proved too strong for his accomplices on the closing straight and took a narrow victory ahead of Pidgornyy and Silin at the line. Riccardo Riccò (Flaminia) retained his grip on the leader's jersey after finishing safely inside the main bunch, 40 seconds behind. Team Sky duo Morris Possoni (22nd) and John-Lee Augustyn (24th) were also in that group, ensuring they too remained in the top 10 of the general classification. The 134.5km route from Kitzbühel to Lienz had been an undulating one and the first ascent of the day had already been crested by the time the first six riders worked themselves clear. As they pressed on the rains which had slowed progress during the morning eventually subsided and sun broke through as Dominik Roels (Milram) bridged the gap to the leaders. That group would quickly splinter though on the first category climb up the Pustertaler Höhenstraße and only Silin, Matthias Brändle (Footon) and Italian champion Giovanni Visconti (ISD-Neri) remained as they made it on to the descent which followed. That trio would be hauled back soon after but Silin attacked again late on with Bertagnolli, Busche and Pidgornyy, but the Russian could only look on as Bertagnolli kicked powerfully to triumph. Stage three result: 1 - Leonardo Bertagnolli - (ITA) - Androni Giocattoli - (3:24:09)
2 - Ruslan Pidgornyy - (UKR) - ISD-Neri - (same time)
3 - Egor Silin - (RUS) - Katyusha - (same time)
4 - Matthew Busche - (USA) - RadioShack - (same time)
5 - Nick Nuyens - (BEL) - Rabobank - (+31)
6 - Giovanni Visconti - (ITA) - ISD-Neri - (+40)
7 - Thomas Kvist - (DEN) - Quick-Step - (+40)
8 - Fabrice Piemontesi - (ITA) - Androni Giocattoli - (+40)
9 - Matthias Brändle - (AUT) - Footon - (+40)
10 - Luis Ángel Maté - (ESP) - Androni Giocattoli - (+40)
Overall standings: 1 - Riccardo Riccò - (ITA) - Flaminia - (11:27:39)
2 - Emanuele Sella - (ITA) - Carmiooro - (+57)
3 - Sergio Pardilla - (ESP) - Carmiooro - (+59)
4 - Morris Possoni - (ITA) - Team Sky - (+1:53)
5 - Tiago Machado - (POR) - RadioShack - (+2:21)
6 - John-Lee Augustyn - (RSA) - Team Sky - (+2:25)
7 - Ruslan Pidgornyy - (UKR) - ISD-Neri - (+2:40)
8 - Vladimir Gusev - (RUS) - Katyusha - (+2:47)
9 - Stefan Denifl - (AUT) - Cervélo - (+3:03)
10 - Donato Cannone - (ITA) - Flaminia - (+3:17)