Tour of the Alps 2019: Route stage 1: Kufstein - Kufstein

Monday 22 April - At 144 kilometres, the 1st stage of the Tour of the Alps is a hilly out-and-back race in Kufstein, close to the Austrian-German border. The short and sharp Hinterthiersee climb is crested inside the last 13 kilometres.

Although the race is far from flat, the riders don't face any long climbs either. Basically, the route features two different circuits. The first one is 34.5 kilometres and is tackled three times. A punchy climb to Mariastein stands out with ramps up to 10%.

Following the third passage on the line the riders hit the Marblinger Höhe, which is a 3 kilometres climb with an average gradient of 6.5%. Shortly, the route enters the more demanding second loop of 13.5 kilometres. It is raced two times, so the punchy Hinterthiersee climb is tackled twice. The uphill is 2 kilometres with an average gradient of 10%.

The second time over the Hinterthiersee is inside the final 13 kilometres. The route descents to kick up briefly on the Marblinger Höhe (not the same side as before) and continues further downhill to the last 1.5 kilometres on the flat.

The first three riders on the line win time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds.

Another interesting read: results/race report 1st stage 2019 Tour of the Alps.