The Tour of Austria will now last nine stages, with each stage visiting another of Austria’s nine states. The race takes place during the Tour de France, between 4 and 12 July and starts with a team time trial in Vienna.

The race is ranked HC and it covers a total of 1,471.3 kilometres and 19,053 climbing meters. The opening Team Time Trial lasts just 5.3 km and will be ridden on normal bikes and not time trial bikes, due to the city’s tram tracks.

Stage five is the first summit finish on the Gratwein Dobratsch climb but stage seven is the queen stage, when Austria’s two most famous HC climbs, the Grossglockner Pass and Kitzbuheler Horn will both be climbed in the same stage for the first time ever.

The newly added ninth stage isn’t easy either, featuring three cat. 1 climbs on the road from Innsbruck to Bregenz.

Peter Kennaugh of Team Sky won the race last year ahead of Javier Moreno and Damiano Caruso.