The Tour of the Alps begins in style – with a climb. The riders move through Natz and continue false flat uphill to the foot of the Brenner Pass. Last year, the race went from Austria to Italy, now it is the other way around. It is a ascent of 15 kilometres long at gradients of some 3%.
The race starts to bears its teeth on the other side of the Italian/Austrian border when the riders enter the 18 kilometres circuit near Innsbruck. The road to the village of Axams climbs for 4.6 kilometres at 5.7% to the village of Axams. The steepest ramp is 13% and the ascent flattens out before the top.
When the riders move through Axams for the second time there are still 18 kilometres ahead of them. Following an undulating stretch of 2.5 kilometres the route drops back down to the valley of the Inn River. The descent is 4.8 kilometres before the last 10 kilometres are mainly flat with a short kick-up inside the last 4 kilometres.
The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the intermediate sprint at kilometres 39 comes with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.
Tour of the Alps 2021 stage 1: route, profile, more
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