The Felt Felbermayr team is in action on two tours in France this week and next week. Today was the start of the four-day Circuit des Ardennes 2024. On the first section from Junifield to Asfeld, the drivers had to struggle with rain and gusty winds. That and many narrow roads made the 165.1 kilometers a real challenge for the people of Wels, but they weren't impressed by it. Josef Dirnbauer showed a brilliant performance today, was in the front in a leading group for a long time and also secured a sprint classification. Due to the weather conditions and the route, the peloton was already quite fragmented on the opening stage; a leading group with a total of 37 riders - including the Felt Felbermayr cyclists Josef Dirnbauer, Michael Kukrle and Miguel Heidemann - was almost six minutes ahead of the rest of the field at the finish. The best catfisher at the start was Miguel Heidemann in 25th place, he reached the finish after 3:41:52 hours at the same time as the Norwegian winner Andre Drege (Team Coop - Repsol). In the overall ranking, “Joe” Dirnbauer is in 4th place thanks to the time bonus. Place. “It was a strong start for our team today. Tomorrow we want to build on this performance,” said racing director Rupert Hödlmoser.