It is a tradition that the heroes of the Tour de France do a few more or less serious laps of honor after the tour of numerous criteria in Europe and thus earn a nice kilometer money after the exertion in France.
But because the teams are putting their drivers on an ever-shorter leash and the racing calendar is becoming increasingly busy, this makes many organizers sweat. The Wels criterion presented by the OÖN, which will be held for the 23rd time on Wednesday, brings top people to the city centre. At maker Paul Resch, the phone is ringing non-stop these days. At the weekend he had to digest the cancellation of his star Primoz Roglic due to injury, and the next setback followed a little later: the World Tour team Bora issued a ban on some drivers, which means that local hero and state champion Felix Großschartner is not allowed to compete in Wels. Instead, the Marchtrenker, like Patrick Konrad, has to start pedaling at the Clasica San Sebastian on Saturday, while Lukas Pöstlberger is in action at the Tour of Poland.
With tour fifth Alexander Wlasow, Resch should now get a high-quality replacement from the Bora racing team. In Graz (6 p.m., live ORF Sport+) the 2018 tour champion, Geraint Thomas, is cranking.
Source: Nachrichten
