After the exciting prologue in St. Pölten, the 73rd Tour of Austria (UCI 2.1) continued today with the first stage, which started and finished in Bad Tatzmannsdorf. Over 130 professional cyclists from 20 teams, including 4 World Tour teams, took part in the relatively flat section of 177.9 kilometers in Burgenland. After a few unsuccessful attempts to break away, the peloton rode together towards the finish. Around 20 kilometers from the finish, the Felt Felbermayr Wels team formed up to be part of a possible breakaway group. The pace gradually increased and the expected mass sprint ensued. Davide De Pretto from Italy (Team Jacco Alula) secured the day's victory with an irresistible start after 3:38:52 hours. At the same time as the winner, 6 professional cyclists from Wels - Riccardo Zoidl, Hermann Pernsteiner, Sebastian Schönberger, Miguel Heidemann, Emanuel Zangerle, Tom Wirtgen - also reached the finish line and thus have every chance before the difficult mountain stages in the next few days. The best-placed Felt Felbermayr rider today was Sebastian Schönberger in 27th place. "We still have every chance, our stages are coming in the next few days," emphasizes racing director Rupert Hödlmoser.