At the end of an exhausting day for the fast men, Team Bahrain Victorious’ Phil Bauhaus took a 22nd career win at stage 2 of the Tour of Slovenia, narrowly edging out Alberto Dainese (TUD) & Luka Mezgec (JAY).
There were 178 kilometres to negotiate between Žalec and Rogaška Slatina, including one categorised climb: Celjski Koča. UAE team Emirates set a strong enough pace to drop many of the potential contenders, while the Bahrain Victorious riders used it to their advantage, and took control.
“On the climb, we were hoping for a slower pace so that Phil could hold on, but UAE attacked,” said Matej Mohorič after the stage. “Phil got back on shortly after the finish of the descent, then it was quite fast on the narrow roads. The group that formed at the front went pretty fast and we had to catch 4 guys in front”.
Sports Director Borut Božič reflected: “Phil was top-notch today. He endured a rhythm that suited us. All our riders came well positioned over the most difficult part which was the 2nd Cat climb. We had a large number of riders in front. Since there were quite a few fast riders behind, we took responsibility after the climb and dictated the rhythm with the other teams, and as a result, a good escape followed. The boys were excellent today. They followed the plan. Everyone was a good support for Phil, as we could see they made a perfect lead-out. Phil was the strongest in the sprint and deservedly won.”
Bauhaus, who was among the pre-stage favourites, was clear that it had been anything but straightforward: “It was for us sprinters and me, a super hard day, particularly the climb in the middle of the stage. UAE and the other guys really went at a hard pace. I was with (Alberto) Dainese and (Alexander) Kristoff on top of the climb. But we made it back. Also, the last 40, and 50 kms were just basically suffering for us sprinters. I felt well, so I am very happy with my legs. In the sprint I was just squeezing everything out. I am super happy that I could pass Dainese and take the win.”
“A bunch sprint is always about small details. At the end of yesterday, I came third. I think it’s still a good result, of course, you always want to win but it’s super difficult. (Dylan) Groenewegen, Kristoff and those guys are world-class bike riders. Yesterday we did good but not perfect, today we did amazing teamwork from the start to the end. so it’s really nice to pay the team back. I am very satisfied with the racing today.”
Stage 3 to Nova Gorica features some tougher climbs and should see some action in the battle for the overall title.
