Ben Hermans finished runner-up Sunday at the Tour of Austria while teammate Brent Bookwalter was fourth overall and the BMC Racing Team took home the team title.
Winner of Brabantse Pijl and the final stage of the Tour de Yorkshire, Hermans finished 1:21 behind Víctor De La Parte (Team Vorarlberg), who won both of the race's mountain-top finishes. Jan Hirt (CCC-Sprandi-Polkowice) was third, 1:32 back.
"I knew before the race that a good result was possible because I felt good and I had a good group of riders around me," Hermans said. "So I am happy with my second place."
Moreno Moser (Team Cannondale-Garmin) won the final stage in a bunch sprint. BMC Racing Team's Amaël Moinard and Manuel Senni were part of separate breakaways, but the race came back together in the final five kilometers.
Hermans enjoyed his best overall finish in a stage race since placing third at the Tour de Wallonie in 2011. He helped the BMC Racing Team finish third in the team time trial that opened the nine-day race, was runner-up on Friday's mountain-top finish and placed third on Thursday.
Bookwalter, who was fourth on Saturday, enjoyed his best finish in a stage race since his runner-up result at the inaugural edition of the Tour of Alberta in 2013.
The BMC Racing Team also won a stage with Rick Zabel on Tuesday while earning its fifth victory of the year in a team classification. Sport Director Valerio Piva said he was pleased with the performances.
"Ben is a good rider, but he is not really a true climber and De La Parte was very strong in the climbs," Piva said. "On the Kitzbühler Horn, he beat the record and the times of Riccardo Ricco and Danilo Di Luca. We did win a stage with Rick and almost won two and every day we had somebody in the top five. So we are happy with this result."
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