BMC gave their young sprinters Rick Zabel and Sebastian Lander a chance to go for glory in yesterday's stage of the Tour of Austria. The pair of youngsters did well and both came away with top 10 results.

Rick Zabel was seventh and Sebastian Lander finished a season-best eighth for the BMC Racing Team in the bunch sprint that capped Wednesday's stage of the Tour of Austria. Three categorized climbs dotted the first 115 kilometers of the 171.9-km race from Kitzbühel to Matrei in Osttirol.

Three riders – Marco Canola (Bardiani-CSF), Marco Minnaard (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) and Pawel Poljanski (Tinkoff-Saxo) – gained a four-minute advantage before the last of them was brought back in the final five kilometers. 

Oscar Gatto (Cannondale Pro Cycling) won his second stage in three days ahead of Juan José Lobato (Movistar Team) and Marco Haller (Katusha Team). Lander's finish bettered his ninth-place result on Stage 6 at the Tour of Qatar.

Peter Kennaugh (Team Sky) held onto the overall lead as the top of the overall standings remained unchanged. Ben Hermans (17th, 3:31 behind) is the BMC Racing Team's best-placed rider overall.

"It was a bit of a messy sprint, but we organized the best we could," sport director Jackson Stewart said. "There was tailwind and a really fast, straight road into the finish and everyone was fighting for the last turn with a kilometer to go. It was nice to see Rick and Sebastian both up there in the top 10."