CYCLING – TEAM Bahrain Victorious rider Phil Bauhaus finished runner-up to Dylan Groenewegen of Jayco AlUla yesterday on the first stage of the Tour of Slovenia.
As expected, the 170.6-kilometre route from Piran to Skofljica concluded with a sprint finish. Bauhaus’s team-mate Zak Erzen also impressed with a ninth-place finish.
A four-man breakaway formed in the early part of the stage, but the peloton kept them under control, especially after the climb at the 90km mark.
The group was reeled in with nine kilometres to go, setting up the lead-out trains for the top sprinters.
Jayco AlUla controlled much of the final run-in. However, Bauhaus did well to position himself in the final and latch on to the wheel of Groenewegen, and battled it out for the sprint, narrowly missing out on the victory.
Bahrain Victorious sports director Borut Bozic commented: “Today was the only proper sprint stage. The start of the race was a little more demanding than I expected.
“The breakaway took a while to get out, later the final of the race was intense, and the lap was technically demanding. We had our plan, the guys stuck to it well, and we saw a lot of positive things in the last 15km to 20km.
“Unfortunately, we also had a bit of bad luck. We have quite a few young riders, but they still lack experience, and what happened today is just experience. Since Phil was alone with Vlad in the last three km, we are very happy with the result. We move on tomorrow and the day after.”
Bauhaus said: “The first hour was not so easy. I expected a little bit easier than it was straight forward and then we did it well as a team. Then, I think we were a bit too early for positioning, too nervous and then we lost Jakob in the crash with seven km to go.
“I think and I hope he is fine now. He finished on time. Later in the last three km I was pretty much alone and all I could do is try to follow Groenewegen.
“In the last corner, I lost a bit and at least I could continue for a win. I am happy with second place because it was a long time ago I was on the podium.”
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