A Spanish rider on an Austrian team does sound strange, but Vctor De La Parte has also won the team’s home stage race against strong opposition and on one of the toughest climbs on the European pro circuit. De La Parte has also raced for Spanish, Greek and Portuguese pro squads and has experience to spare. Ed Hood caught up with the man from the Basque Country to hear his story. An absolutely outrageous stage is how the race website describes the day which incorporates it Daniel Friebes Mountain High the reference work for Europes greatest cycle climbs says; more challenging than any of Monte Zoncolans three routes, steeper than the Fedaia, or anything on Monte Grappa, the Angliru or Mortirolo.If you need more clues?Its 10.2 kilometres long, the altitude gain is 1,278 metres, the average gradient is 12.53% with a maximum of 22.3% – and thats in the final kilometre. . .The Kitzbuheler Horn is often over looked in debates about Europes toughest climb due the fact that its in Austria and has never been visited by the Giro, Tour or Vuelta but its savage. It does however feature regularly in the Tour of Austria a race which runs concurrently with the Tour de France and so it too is over looked.The man who took the 2015 laurels atop the Horn and went on to win overall was Vctor De La Parte riding for home Continental team Vorarlberg – he was better than the best that six World Tour...
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