Ainet - Bruggen     

This Division 2 classic starts in Ainet, which is situated in the beautiful valley of the river Isel. Starting in the centre, it doesn’t take long before the first climb of the day looms. This first climb of the day to Oberdrum isn’t an easy one. With a length of 8.5 km and an average percentage of 8.6%, it’s a perfect chance for some riders to get into the break away.

After a fast descent, the riders will ente...

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This Division 2 classic starts in Ainet, which is situated in the beautiful valley of the river Isel. Starting in the centre, it doesn’t take long before the first climb of the day looms. This first climb of the day to Oberdrum isn’t an easy one. With a length of 8.5 km and an average percentage of 8.6%, it’s a perfect chance for some riders to get into the break away.

After a fast descent, the riders will enter Lienz. Passing the Parish Church ‘Liebburg’ and the castle ‘Bruck’, the riders will pass all Lienz’ highlights. 20 kilometers after Lienz, the next climb starts off. This climb goes from Abfaltersbach to Anras, over a length of 5 km. Not only will the riders watch the road, but also the beautiful scenery of the Lienzer Dolomites. After a short descent, the peloton will face a new climb from Unterried, where there is a short but very steep climb of 2 kilometers à 11%. A nice rest follows with a beautiful plateau.

Over the same roads where the peloton came from, they will almost pass the start of today. So, this means they’ll have to climb the pass to Oberdrum for the second time. With its average percentage of 10% and a length of 7 kilometers, it’s probably the toughest climb of this classic.

When the peloton almost passes Ainet, they’ll turn north to Bruggen. However, from Bruggen, there’s one pass to go, which means the last. Through the Defereggental, it’s not far to the finish from Bruggen, just 15 kilometers are left. While the real climb starts at 11 kilometers before the finish, the previous 24 kilometers were uphill too, though it will never be steep.

With the last climb to Staller Pass in sight, the favorites for the victory will come to the front. With an average gradient of 6%, we’ll see many riders struggling on their way to the top. Only the strongest riders will be capable of winning on the border with Italy.