Matteo Sobrero takes strong fourth place on the first mountain stage at Tour of Slovenia
Italian Matteo Sobrero put in an impressive performance on stage two of the Tour of Slovenia, taking today a solid fourth place on the first mountain stage.
Sobrero was the rider who tried to follow the biggest race favourite, Tadej Pogacar, on the last categorized climb Svetina. When Pogacar went away, the Astana – Premier Tech rider tried to bridge across to the leader on the descent but was unable to do so and was later joined by a few more riders to create a chase group.
“Well, on the last climb Pogacar went away with a really high pace. I tried to follow him but at one moment, two other riders of UAE-Team Emirates joined me and of course they did not want to collaborate with me. So, later some more riders caught us. There was a short final climb at the finish but at the end of the day we just played it in a sprint. Anyway, I am quite happy with my performance today. I feel really good after the Giro d’Italia and I am looking forward to the next days here in Slovenia”, – said Matteo Sobrero.
“Sobrero did a solid stage and his result today looks promising ahead of the queen stage the day after tomorrow. It was a good day for him, but you are always aiming for something more. So, in general we are happy with the stage and now we will try to do something bigger in the next day in the mountains. Unfortunately, we lost Samuele Battistella in a crash after just 25 kilometres of racing. He hit his femur really hard, but at the end of the day Samuele fortunately escaped with no fracture”, – added Giuseppe Martinelli, Astana – Premier Tech Sports Director.
At the end of the day, Pogacar took the solo win and became the new overall leader, while Sobrero arrived at the finish with a group of chasers, taking a nice fourth place in the sprint.
After this stage, Sobrero moved up to fourth position in the General Classification, 1 minute 33 seconds behind the race leader.
Tour of Slovenia, Stage 2, Žalec – Celjski Grad, 147 km.
Stage Top-3: 1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates); 2. Matej Mohoric (Bahrain – Victorious); 3. Diego Ulissi (UAE-Team Emirates).
Astana – Premier Tech stage Top-3: 4. Matteo Sobrero; 35. Javier Romo; 36. Fabio Felline.
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