Surprising finish, Belgian wins first stage #video

Jersey owners after 1st stage:

Peneči dež zmagovalca 1. etape @TourOfSlovenia Belgijca Jensa Keukeleire @ORICA_GreenEDGE @SiolSPORTAL pic.twitter.com/WrMmeXydBD

— Alenka Teran Kosir (@Alenka_TK) June 16, 2016

Jens Keukeleire iz @ORICA_GreenEDGE gre zasluzeno po rumeno majico na @TourOfSlovenia #1ststage #yellowjersey pic.twitter.com/3kPiZStEp9

— JakaLopatic (@Jaka_Lopatic) June 16, 2016

Everybody in Koper was expecting to see sprint finish of the peloton, but 178 kilometers long stage finished with an escape of three riders. Belgian Jens Keukeleire (Orica GreenEdge) was strongest in the finish, Italian Sacha Modolo (Lampre) was second, Orica GreenEdge’s Jack Haig of Australia was third.

Newsflash: Italian Davide Vigiano (Androni Giocattoli) has crashed on the descent from Gažon and was already picked up by ambulance.

16:50, 10 km to the finish: New escape. Pavel Kochetkov (Rus/Katusha) and Pavel Brutt (Rus/Tinkof) are now in the lead. They are couple of hundreds of meters ahead of peloton, that is lead by team Lampre.

16:45: All breakaway riders that were leading the race for 156 kilometers are now caught. Peloton is compact, but climb to Gažon did make a big selection.

KOM competition – 3rd category mountain finish – Gažon (158,9 km):

1. Lorenzo Rota (Ita/Bardiani)
2. Marek Canecky (Svk/Amplatz-BMC)
3. Pavel Kočetkov (Rus/Katjuša)

16:35: Marek Canecky (Svk/Amplatz-BMC) and Kenny De Ketele (Bel/Topsport Vlaanderen) are now alone in the lead. Other breakaway riders were caught by peloton. 

16:30, 149 km: Brave escapees didn’t say the last word yet, they still have a lead of about two minutes. They are close to climb to Gažon that could decide on today’s winner.

16:23: Escapees are pushing with everything they have, gap is now back on two minutes.

16:20, 141 km: Peloton could already caught up with breakaway, but they are waiting for final strike. Four riders are now in the lead (Božič, de Ketele, Finkst and Canecky), Italian Viola has backed down.

16:00, 131 km: Like expected, escape is getting to its end… Leading five riders are now just one minute ahead of peloton.

15:53: We are getting closer and closer to the finish line. Only 50 km left!

15:30, 109 km: Gap of leading five riders is now under three minutes (2:50). 

Intermediate sprint – Kozina (108,5 km):

1. Michele Viola (Ita/Meridiana Kamen Team)
2. Jon Božič (Slo/Adria Mobil)
3. Tilen Finkst (Slo/Radenska Ljubljana)

Asphalt in Koper, where finish will take place, is very slippery:

15:25: Leading riders are over 100 km mark. Gap of the break is steadily smaller. Escapees don’t have a slightest chance to get in Koper ahead of peloton.

15:10, 90 km: Riders passed feed zone. Escapees gain some advantage from this section, since the big peloton needs more time here. Gap is still at around four minutes.

15:02, 85 km: As expected, weather is not very stable. Raindrops are again falling from the sky, but for not they don’t effect the race. Cyclists are very close to feed zone, where they can get refreshments and snacks.

15:00: Pace in the front of peloton is dictated by teams Dimension Data and Sky. Gap of escapees is now four minutes.

Bad weather on the finish:

14:50, 76 km: Peloton is less than five minutes behind escapees. Field report say that rain, which fell down on riders in Cerknica, completely stopped.

Intermediate sprint – Postojna (73,6 km):

1. Michele Viola (Ita/ Meridiana Kamen Team)
2. Tilen Finkst (Slo/Radenska Ljubljana)
3. Jon Božič (Slo/Adria Mobil)

KOM competition – 3rd category mountain finish – Ravbarkomanda (69,7 km):

14:30, 65 km: Rest for the peloton is over. Advantage of escapees is now melting, they
are just five minutes and 35 seconds ahead.

14:20, 60 km: Peloton is stretched out. Team Lampre is very active in the front and the gap to the escapees is getting down. Now they are six minutes apart.

14:00: Breakaway group is already across Rakitna and on the way to Cerknica. Viola had some problems, but he’s back there in the escape. Gap has increased to seven minutes and 30 seconds.

KOM competition – 3rd category mountain finish – Rakitna (31,8 km):

1. Marek Canecky (Svk/Amplatz-BMC)
2. Kenny De Ketele (Bel/ Topsport Vlaanderen)
3. Jon Božič (Slo/Adria Mobil Cycling)

13:40, 40 km: Looks like breakaway group will only have four riders on the top of Rakitna. Viola backed down and is now already a minute behind them. Maybe this doesn’t mean anything, Italian can still catch up with his escaping colleagues on the downhill section.

13:30, 27 km: Five riders are climbing with high pace, so that they almost lost one riders. Viola is now behind them, but for now he keeps the leaders in sight. Escapees already have a gap of seven minutes.

13:25: Who is in the escape? Jon Božič (Slo/Adria Mobil Cycling), Kenny De Ketele (Bel/Topsport
Vlaanderen), Tilen Finkst (Slo/Radenska Ljubljana), Michele Viola (Ita/Meridiana Kamen Team) and Marek Canecky (Svk/Amplatz-BMC).

13:20: Cyclists are already close to first KOM classification finish on 2016 Tour of
Slovenia. Rakitna will host 3rd category mountain finish.

13:00, 18 km: Five breakaway riders already have massive lead to the peloton, they are
now more than five minutes ahead.

Intermediate sprint – Ig (9,6 km)

1. Kenny De Ketele (Bel/Topsport)
‪2. Tilen Finkst (Slo/Radenska)
‪3. Jon Božič (Slo/Adria Mobil)

12:50: Peloton in under Krim mountain, reports from the field say that everything is
in order. Five escaping riders already have a nice gap – minute and 20 seconds.

12:45: We already have first breakaway. Jon Božič (Slo/Adria Mobil), Maksim
Belkov (Rus/Katusha), Filip Čengić (Hrv/Meridiana) and Marcel Huber
(Avt/Felbermayr) are in the escape.

12:40: Kilometer of closed ride is done, now the race really starts. Riders are
saying: “See you in Koper!”

12:35: 141 cyclists are on the start of 23rd edition of Tour of Slovenia.
Four stages in total length of 590 is ahead of them.

12:30: Cyclists are on their way. 178 kilometers are ahead of them, we expect them in
Koper around 5 P.M. We expect that sprint finish will decide on today’s winner.

Start - Ljubljana

What can we expect from first day of the race? Stage is flat and it should be in the domain of sprinters. Race starts in Slovenian capital and will finish in Koper later in the afternoon.

Stage has four intermediate sprints and three mountain finishes of third category. First is on 30th kilometer on Rakitna (789 m.a.s.l.). Before passing Postojna, peloton will have to climb to Ravbarkomanda (686 m.a.s.l.). Last mountain pass is really just a hill – Gažon with altitude of 269 meters is waiting for them 20 kilometers before the finish line. Experts think that this short climb could disturb the situation in peloton, but we still expect to see sprint finish in Koper. Biggest favorites are Brit Mark Cavendish (Team Dimension Data) and Italian Elia Viviani (Team Sky), Slovenian cyclists with great chances of very good result are Marko Kump (Lampre) and Grega Bole (Nippo-Vini Fantini).

Stage 1 details: