Patrick Konrad dreams of a home victory at the Tour of Austria 2025!

Patrick Konrad dreams of a home victory at the Tour of Austria 2025!

Patrick Konrad will compete in the Tour of Austria in 2025. His start was officially confirmed on Thursday by his team Lidl-Trek. Konrad, who made a name for himself as a stage winner in the Tour de France, finished the Giro d'Italia in 73rd place and is now aiming for overall victory in the Tour of Austria. A victory on this home tour would be a career highlight for the professional cyclist and a dream come true to win in front of home fans.

This year the Tour of Austria will take place from July 9th to 13th, with the start in Steyr and the finish in Feldkirch. The tour has a long tradition that dates back to 1955, when it first led through a free Austria without zone borders, as tourofaustria.com reports.

Tradition of the Tour of Austria

The first stage of the tour did not lead to Graz, but rather on the B1 to Linz. These early years were characterized by exciting competitions, which also brought with them numerous technical problems. The national rider Wukisevits had a broken wheel during a stage and was forced to throw his bike and hike up the mountain with a stick until he received a suitable replacement wheel.

From 1955 to 1957, Swedes dominated the tour with overall winners such as Nordvall, Ströhm and Göransson, while the Austrian drivers could not agree on a collaboration. The tour developed into a challenge with frequent stages over 200 kilometers, for example the route from Wels to Wattens, which at 245 km and the 261 km long stage from Graz to Vienna represented a particular strain for the athletes.

In 1957 there was the first participation of a national team from the GDR, which further increased the international competitiveness of the tour. Remarkable events in the meantime, such as the high number of defects during the Graz-Vienna stage due to construction sites, continue to shape the history of the event to this day. Another significant year, 1958, saw the celebration of the tenth edition of the Tour of Austria, in which numerous national and international riders fought for victory.

Patrick Konrad and his Lidl-Trek team are determined to build on the historic success of the Tour of Austria and continue the tradition of outstanding performances at this prestigious event. The entire cycling world will be closely following the developments before and during the tour and will keep their fingers crossed for Konrad that he achieves the overall victory he longs for.

For further information on the history of the Tour of Austria and its traditions, we refer to the detailed experiences and anecdotes that tourofaustria.com provides. The official announcements about Konrad's participation can be found in Krone, where the official announcement was published and details about his goal, overall victory, are presented.