Tour of Slovakia resumes competition with the return of Restrepo
The National Championships give way to the Tour of Slovakia, a five-day competition in which Team Polti Kometa will have Restrepo back after his knee injury. This event will close the second part of the season before thinking about the summer objectives.
Central and eastern Slovakia will host a race that starts with almost 30 kilometres of team time trial. An unusual discipline that is also set to make a big difference in this race. Both the second and third stages offer a slightly more demanding route but with a probable resolution in the sprint, stage 4 includes two final laps of a circuit in which the climb will select the favourites for the partial victory as well as for the general classification. The climax of the Tour of Slovakia will be its final and queen stage. The shortest stage on the line, with 142 kilometres, but with three climbs to Strbské Pleso that include 8 kilometres over 5% to seal the race.
Team Polti Kometa is going into the race with British rider Paul Double as the overall leader. His recent good results, almost winning the Tour of Slovenia, augur well now in Slovakia. Alongside him, the big news is the return to competition for Jhonatan Restrepo. The Colombian, who had to miss the Giro d’Italia due to a knee injury during the Vuelta a Asturias, is back in the jersey with a lot of enthusiasm to reach full performance at the end of the season, as well as his compatriot Germán Gómez with options in the general classification. Completing the line-up are Spanish climber Álex Martín, strong Italians Andrea Garosio and Davide De Cassan along with Erik Fetter who will also be looking for his chances in this Tour of Slovakia.
Jhonatan Restrepo values his return to competition “with positivity because I am doing well, training with intensity after the injury. They were hard and long months, with a lot of physiotherapy work to recover. It’s going to be the first race, it’s always an unknown and I’m sure I can contribute to the team’s objectives. I want to keep growing, confirming the recovery and arrive in full performance to the races in Italy at the end of the year, which are very important for the team. I want to thank my teammates, staff, medical team… all those who have been concerned about me and have given me their support to come back even stronger”.
Biagio Conte, sport director: “The team time trial will determine the overall, so we have to minimise losses of time so we keep our options in the two decisive stages and especially in the final stage, where I believe in our chances with Double. In the case of Restrepo, he comes from a very long period of recovery and I hope that the passing of the stages will allow him to take rhythm and even be in the fight”.
