September 15, 2017 (Judendorf, Austria) – Canadian Adam de Vos stormed to the biggest victory of his young career on Sunday as he burst from a five-man breakaway to win the International Raiffeisen Grand Prix in Judendorf, Austria. He was followed across the line by Sepp Kuss in eighth to give Rally Cycling two riders in the top ten. Back across the pond, Shane Kline won the Reading Radsport Festival.
The tough 185.4-kilometer course started and finished in the Austrian village of Judendorf. Over nine laps on a 20-kilometer loop, the race featured two ascents per lap, challenging the riders from the start. De Vos laid the foundation for his victory by riding aggressively and made the elite selection in the closing laps. Behind, the peloton broke apart as the chase intensified. On the final ascent, the peloton completely shattered with Kuss charging over the top in the front. Without an organized chase, the day’s winner would come from de Vos’ group. In the sprint for the line, de Vos outkicked Tadej Pogacar (ROG – Ljubljana) and Patrick Gamper (Tirol Cycling Team) to take his first victory on European soil. From the remnants of the peloton, Kuss drove to the line 25 seconds later to finish eighth.
Stateside Success
Back stateside, the other half of Rally Cycling was in Pennsylvania to tackle the Reading Radsport Festival and Bucks County Classic Doylestown Criterium. Kline started the weekend with a strong second in Friday’s Mt. Penn Hill Climb. The following day, he went one better and sprinted to victory in the Reading Radsport Twilight Criterium. The win gave him the overall victory in the two-day event.
“The racing was aggressive all weekend,” said Kline. “On Saturday, the plan was to put Tom (Soladay) or I into the break, saving Brad (Huff) and Eric (Young) for the sprint. I put myself into almost every move of the night until one finally stuck. Coming into one lap to go, I had a gap out of the first turn, looked over my shoulder and just gunned it from there. Coming across the line, I was able to hold on to a couple of bike lengths. It felt great! I had lots of friends and family there, so my cheering squad was on point. It felt great to close out the win with the sprint train and take home the overall!”
Kline and his teammates closed out the weekend at the historic Doylestown Criterium, where longtime team member Tom Soladay starting the last race of his storied career, the team dedicated themselves to giving him one final victory. Soladay would end the day in eighth, and will now turn his focus to spending time with friends and family.
“On Sunday, we tried to set up Tom, and send him off in style. It didn’t work out, but it was great to line up with him in his final race. He has been a great teammate, and everyone on the team is going to miss him.”
Results
1. Adam de Vos (Can) Rally Cycling 4:32:49
2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo) Rog-Ljubljana
3. Patrick Gamper (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team
4. Marcel Neuhauser (Aut) Team Felbermayr-Simplon Wels
5. Mattia Bais (Ita)
6. Marek Canecky (Svk) Amplatz-BMC
7. Markus Freiberger (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team 0:18
8. Sepp Kuss (USA) Rally Cycling 0:25
9. Riccardo Zoidl (Aut) Team Felbermayr-Simplon Wels
10. Matteo Fabbro (Ita)
11. Sebastian Schönberger (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team
12. Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut) Amplatz-BMC
13. Federico Canuti (Ita) d’Amico-Utensilnord
14. Matic Groselj (Slo) Rog-Ljubljana 0:28
15. Filippo Fortin (Ita) Tirol Cycling Team 0:34
16. Gasper Katrasnik (Slo) Adria Mobil
17. Ziga Jerman (Slo) Rog-Ljubljana
18. Alessandro Pessot (Ita)
19. Matej Mugerli (Slo) Amplatz-BMC
20. Lukas Meiler (Ger) Team Vorarlberg