Nineteen-year-old Australian Cameron Rogers (Lidl Trek Future), a two-time world champion in the prologue of the 2.1 Tour of Austria against the clock, and five-time Italian champion Filippo Ganna ( Ineos Grenadiers) was looking to give up the lead as he raced hard to the line.

But when the clock stopped, Rogers had won by one second, and the nephew of three-time time trial world champion Michael Rogers won his first UCI-ranked elite race on the 3km course in the center of Lower Austria's state capital, St. Pölten He won the race.

"I'm still shaking right now and my heart is beating just as fast as it did during the race," the young Australian said in an interview after the prologue.

"I was watching him and I thought he got me in the last second. I don't know how," he repeated, shaking his head and beaming.

Rogers won the race with a time of 3:38, just ahead of Ganna, while fourth-place finisher Max Warscheid (Jayco Alura) was just two seconds behind the winning time to open the six-day race, which will be held from July 2-7.

Rogers made a strong mark in Australia as a junior, winning the U19 road title in January 2022. In April of the same year, Rogers, then 17, set a junior Japanese record in the 3000m individual track pursuit at the Oceania Championships in Brisbane. After racing for the Lotto Doustony Development team in 2023, the Canberra-born rider spent the 2024 season with Lidl Trek Future, becoming one of the youngest riders on the Continental team.

After taking his first pro win in the Tour of Austria's prologue, Rogers lined up in the leader's jersey on Wednesday's first stage (177.9 km) in a field packed with World Tour riders.

"I was so shocked when Ganna came in one second behind me. I didn't expect that to happen. ...... I can't believe I'll be running in the leader's jersey tomorrow."