Tour of the Alps 2019: Geoghegan Hart sprints to first leader jersey

The opener of the Tour of the Alps is a hilly out-and-back race of 144 kilometres. The double digits Hinterthiersee climb in the finale reduces the peloton before Tao Geoghegan Hart sprints to victory. Obviously, he is the first GC leader. (Slideshow route/profile)

Results 1st stage Tour of the Alps 2019

1. Tao Geoghegan Hart (gbr)
2. Alex Aranburu (spa) s.t.
3. Roland Thalmann (swi) s.t.
4. Pello Bilbao (spa) s.t.
5. Nikita Stalnov (kaz) s.t.
6. Chris Froome (gbr) s.t.
7. Aleksandr Vlasov (rus) s.t.
8. Rafal Majka (pol) s.t.
9. Giovanni Carboni (ita) s.t.
10. Dayer Quintana (col) s.t.

GC after stage 1
1. Tao Geoghegan Hart (gbr)
2. Alex Aranburu (spa) + 0.04
3. Roland Thalmann (swi) + 0.06
4. Pello Bilbao (spa) + 0.10
5. Nikita Stalnov (kaz) s.t.
6. Chris Froome (gbr) s.t.
7. Aleksandr Vlasov (rus) s.t.
8. Rafal Majka (pol) s.t.
9. Giovanni Carboni (ita) s.t.
10. Dayer Quintana (col) s.t.

Race report
The breakaway – Maximilian Kuen, Patrick Gamper, Matthias Krizek and Emil Dima – opens up a gap of more than 5 minutes before the peloton takes them on a leash.

Dima is the first rider on the two KOM climbs, so he is the first KOM leader. He pushes on alone after the Hinterthiersee climb before chasers Zimmermann and Schillinger track him down. They are brought back on the steep climb to Hinterthiersee. Vincenzo Nibali strikes with Rafal Majka and Tao Geoghegan Hart. Pavel Sivakov bridges across in the descent.

More riders rejoin the leaders inside the last 4 kilometres. Tao Geoghegan Hart outpowers his competition in the ensuing group sprint to take the GC lead.

Another interesting read: route 1st stage 2019 Tour of the Alps.