Phil Bauhaus finished an agonisingly close second behind Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco Alula) at the Tour of Slovenia’s opening stage yesterday.
The stage started in Celje and finished in the tourist resort of Rogaška Slatina with a bunch sprint, as expected.
An early breakaway of four riders – all from the smaller teams – was caught with 300m left of the 188.6km parcours, at the end of a 12.8km loop where riders needed to get into a good position for the sprint, which Team Bahrain Victorious did very well, leaving Phil ideally placed to contest the finale.
In the final 250 metres, Bauhaus was behind Groenewegen and his leadout man, local rider Luka Mezgec. Matej Mohorič had pulled the bunch back to the escapees, and after Mezgec peeled off, Phil (returning to the peloton for the first time since the Tour of Hungary in May), came around his Dutch adversary but the finish line was a metre too soon for a Bahrain win.
While obviously frustrated not to raise his arms on the opening day, Phil Bauhaus was satisfied after the race.
“We chased down the end of the breakaway. Matej and Cameron did really well to bring me in the front, and then I was a bit too early in front. Mezgec came with Groenewegen and did the perfect leadout, so I had to do my sprint just to come on the wheel. It felt good, but I just couldn’t get past him in the end.”
Sports director Franco Pellizotti said: “In the end, second place is good. I am happy because Phil made a good sprint. He was also behind Groenewegen. He tried to catch him at the finish line but it was just too late. But he team rode well together all day, and I am satisfied with the performance.”
The margin of victory was a matter of centimetres, and the German should have a second opportunity to take a stage tomorrow, as the peloton take on 163.7 relatively flat kilometres between Žalec and Ormož.
Meanwhile in Switzerland, at Tour de Suisse, another top 10 result for Pello Bilbao moved him up to fourth in the GC with four stages remaining.
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