Phil Bauhaus finished runner-up to Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla) on the first stage of the Tour of Slovenia. As expected, the 170.6 km route from Piran to Škofljica concluded with a sprint finish. Phil’s team-mate Žak Eržen also impressed with a 9th 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 90 km 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.

Sports Director Borut Božič 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 15 to 20 km. 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 3 km, we are very happy with the result. We move on tomorrow and the day after.”

Phil Bauhaus said: “The first hour was not so easy. I expected a little bit more 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 7 km to go. I think and I hope he is fine now. He finished on time. Later in the last 3 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 is a long time ago I was on the podium.”