Slovenia, land of climbers

Tour of Slovenia (2.1)
15th to 19th June
Stage 1: Nova Gorica-Postojna (164’7 km)
Stage 2: Ptuj-Rogaška Slatina (174.1 km)
Stage 3: Žalec-Celje (144’6 km)
Stage 4: Laško-Velika planina (152’5 km)
Stage 5: Vrhnika-Novo mesto (156’1 km)

In the land of Primoz Roglic and Tadej Pogacar, the EOLO Kometa also wants to do its best with the Tour of Slovenia and its five days of cycling. Two top mountain  finishes, together with a hilly terrain, will demand the maximum from the blues, who arrive with a good competition rhythm from Adriatica Ionica.

The fight for the overall classification will start on the first day, with a second category climb less than 15 kilometres from the finish. After a long, hilly stage, the two hard days will follow, with a special mention for the uphill finish at Velika planina with its 8 kilometres at an average gradient of 7.6%. Not even the final day will be a clear sprint, with a climb in the last 10 kilometres of the stage.

An exceptional terrain for Vincenzo Albanese, who has rested after the Giro d’Italia and can show his speed and his ability to solve sprints in small groups, without forgetting what Gavazzi can offer these days. For the mountains, Lorenzo Fortunato will be looking for better luck than in Adriatica Ionica with a Fancellu who seems to have taken a step forward in his progression as a cyclist.

Jesús Hernández: “It will be the redebut of several riders after the Giro. We have to see how Fortunato has recovered from Adriatica Ionica. We want to be as far ahead as possible with him, and of course we’ll be looking for the stage win. I think there are up to three stages where Albanese can do very well, where there will be small groups or the an uphill sprint. I am sure that we will be protagonists and we will fight to be seen”.