Bont`s Albasini extends overall lead on penultimate stage

Team Columbia-HTC's Michael Albasini pulled himself closer to the overall victory in the Tour of Austria with a solid time trial on Saturday. With his fifth place, the Swiss rider was able to extend his lead in the general classification to 1:12 over Ruslan Pidgornyy (ISD). 

Rabobank's Koos Moerenhout was the victor on the day, edging out Garmin-Slipstream's Svein Tuft by just two seconds.

Albasini, who does not normally excel in the time trial, was surprised with his result on the day. "Today it was an absolute surprise for me. I have done the best time trial ever," he said. "Now we have to ride well at tomorrows stage to Vienna and I can celebrate my first victory of this tour."

Time trial specialist Pidgornyy moved into second overall thanks to a poor performance by previous second place rider Giampaolo Caruso, who lost three minutes to Albasini. Yet the day was still a disappointment for the Ukrainian, who had hoped to win the stage