Solid start to the Tour of Hellas
Day 1: Ioannina-Agrinio (171.6 km)
It was straight down to business at the first stage of the Tour of Greece. Two Vorarlberg riders were in the thick of it at the start. Laurin Nenning crashed after just three kilometers in the hectic start phase, but was able to continue the race unharmed. Dominik Amann was then part of the first small leading group, which broke away after 30 kilometers.
Afterwards, a group of eight riders without Team Vorarlberg took command and rode up to three minutes ahead at a horrendous pace (average speed 49.75 km/h). However, when it came to the decision after 171 flat kilometers in Agrinio, the whole field was back together again. Colin Stüssi confirmed his good early form and finished at the same time as the day’s winner Mathis Avondts from the Netherlands in 16th place. Emanuel Zangerle lost five seconds, Dominik Röber 16 seconds and Philipp Hofbauer 22 seconds.
“Goal achieved: We have arrived well in the tour and have survived the expected turbulent start,” was the satisfied conclusion of Team Vorarlberg race director Paul Renger. “The plan for tomorrow looks similar, and from Friday onwards our time will come in the mountains,” is the outlook for the next few days. Five stages over a total of 863 kilometers await await the strong field, in which eleven other Continental teams are represented alongside the Vorarlberg team.
Last year, Team Vorarlberg was the third best of 20 teams in Greece. Colin Stüssi (fifth) and Jannis Peter (ninth) achieved two top 10 finishes in the overall standings. Things went even better in 2003, when the then Team Volksbank celebrated the overall victory through Vasilis Anastopoulos, now coach at Astana.
Cover picture: Team Vorarlberg is in action this week at the Tour of Greece.
Image 1: Laurin Nenning was involved in a crash during the hectic start phase, but remained uninjured.
Image 2: Dominik Amann was part of a five-man group at the start that pulled out a one-minute lead.
Result: www.procyclingstats.com/race/international-tour-of-hellas/2026/stage-1
Livestream stage 2: www.k19.at/live/188 – Stage 2 (from 13:30)
Squad: Dominik Amann, Philipp Hofbauer, Laurin Nenning, Dominik Röber, Emanuel Zangerle, Colin Stüssi
