For the first time in his career Team Katusha's Marco Haller won the Austrian pro title after a hard and selective race in Güssing. After 192 kilometers Haller finished 12 seconds ahead of Matthias Krizek (Team Felbermayr - Simplon Wels) and 1 minute 16 ahead of Bora - Argon 18's Daniel Schorn.

"I am very happy with this title. I won many youth titles but just a pro title counts. This is my first pro title. It is especially nice to me as I won the race after a real elimination race. I am a sprinter, but I didn't want to take the risk to wait for the sprint. I felt all-day-long good legs. Already early in the race I was in a group of 14 riders. We stayed in the front. Every lap some riders dropped. In the end we started the penultimate lap with just four riders left. That's when I attacked on the penultimate climb. It was the right moment and nobody was able to chase me down," said winner Marco Haller.

It was a hard and windy race with four steep climbs in every lap. Marco Haller proved to be in the right shape to start next week in the Tour de France.

"I am really happy and so proud to show the national jersey in the biggest race in the world. Team Katusha can count on me in France", concluded Marco Haller.