The 30th ‘Jubilee’ edition of the Tour of Slovenia will take riders around the country and across borders, for five days from tomorrow to Sunday. The route measures 834.4km in total, and has 12.345m of elevation gain. Team Bahrain Victorious’ line-up is Nikias Arndt, Phil Bauhaus, Pello Bilbao, Nicolo Buratti, Matevz Govekar, Matej Mohoric and Edoardo Zambanini.
The first start will be on the northeast flat part of Slovenia in Murska Sobota, and the route will lead the cyclists through three neighbouring countries, Austria, Hungary and Croatia, which is unique in the European area. The route of the first, fairly long stage, is not demanding, but it’s a long day with quite a few technical turns. Considering the straightforward nature of the route with one solitary 4th category climb, the first leader in Ormoz will probably be decided by a bunch sprint.
The traditional “Styrian classic” will also be part of the parcours this year, meaning that before the technically demanding last part of the stage, the competitors will have to climb from Lasko to Celjsko koca. Although there is still a long way to go from the top to the finish line in Rogaska Slatina, the climb could have a significant impact on the outcome of the stage. The victory is likely to be decided by a sprint from the main peloton.
The extremely varied route from Ljubljana to Nova Gorica will certainly bring the first pointers as to which cyclists will fight for the final victory. After the Goriske Brda, the cyclists will also cross the national border with Italy, and with this, the race will connect all four neighbouring countries with Slovenia for the first time in history.
Day four is the ‘Queen stage’ and contains three climbs before the summit finish to Krvavec. The stage is not long, but will certainly be dynamic.
The last stage starts in the town of Šentjernej, and the finish will traditionally be in Novo Mesto., where Mojorič won S5 12 months ago.
Sports director Borut Bozic, who rode this race as a professional rider many times, explained the strategy for Team Bahrain Victorious:
“Leader of the race will be Pello Bilbao who suites the queen stage the most. The first two stages we focus on sprinter Phil Bauhaus, two stages are suitable for Matej, finishing in Nova Gorica and Novo mesto. We have a strong team and because of that our goals are very high.”
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