Aleotti takes a surprising victory and overall lead

30th Tour of Slovenia’s stage 3 was full of very dynamic racing, with the battle for the green jersey getting tougher and tougher. The 160.5 kilometers long route between Ljubljana and Nova Gorica was won by Giovanni Aleotti (BORA – hansrohe), after a fierce attack on the descent to the finish. The fastest Slovenian today was Domen Novak (UAE Team Emirates) in 16th place.

The stage was of course decided in the two laps around Nova Gorica, a double climb to Ravnica and a visit to Brda. The combination of a steep climb, very little flat ground and, above all, competitive cyclists completely broke the peloton in the very end, leaving 12 riders fighting for the final stage victory. Unfortunately, there were no Slovenians among them. Giovanni Aleotti attacked at the start of the descent and made the gap to one of the main favorites, Ecuador's Jhonatan Narvaez (INEOS - Grenadiers). While Aleotti rode across the finish line with a smile on his face and his arms in the air, the latter won the sprint of the chase group and got a six-second bonus, which is currently enough for second place in the fight for the green jersey. Aleotti will be in green tomorrow, his advantage is 12 seconds. Nine other top riders are very close, so the climb to Krvavec will be very intense indeed. The two highest-placed Slovenes in the overall standings are Domen Novak and Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) in 16th and 17th place, but their gap of a minute and a half is hard to make up.

Giovanni Aleotti: “Last ten kilometers from the top of the climb have been really hard. I knew Narvaez is the favorite, so I wanted to anticipate, but didn't want to be the first to do so. I followed him and then I tried to go when I thought it's a good moment. It's been a long one on the end. But I'm very happy with my victory and I really want to thank my teammates, I think we've ridden very good. Not just today, but all three stages so far, we have very good spirits. Today I couldn't have done it without them, I had a flat tire just before the last climb, so they helped me to came back and I'm really happy to pay them back like this. First of all I will enjoy this victory, then we'll try all the best to defend it. It's going to be a hard final of the stage tomorrow, but we'll be fighting for it.” 

Also worth mentioning:
- The route of the third stage also crossed the border in Brda and visited Italy. This marked the end of an extraordinary journey for the jubilee Tour of Slovenia, which visited all neighboring countries.
- As always, the staging of the Tour of Slovenia is a major logistical challenge, and every spectator along the route will see, above all, a whole fleet of different vehicles. Emil Frey Group has provided 40 vehicles of different makes, which are used to follow the race, as well as for referees, doctors and other essential technical staff. The vehicles are also used by teams who are constantly on the terrain marking and inspecting the courses. So the cyclists are not the only ones who cover a lot of kilometers. Emil Frey Avtocenter is also the sponsor of the white jersey worn by the best young cyclist in the race.
- The average speed today was also very high, 42.55 km/h, which is close to the theoretical predicted maximum speed for this stage.
- The officials took the drastic measure of disqualifying Johannes Kulset (Uno-X Mobility) today, deducting 15 UCI points and fining him 500 Swiss Francs. The reason is the use of an inappropriate position on the bike, but we have not received more precise information about the incident.
- The best team of the day was VF Group-Bardiani CSF- Faizane', which also leads the overall team standings, with a two and a half minute advantage over Uno-X Mobility.

Winners of the intermediate sprints
Ajdovščina (58.5 km): Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious)
Renče (78.5 km): Maxime Decomble (Groupama-FDJ)
Dobrovo (121.2 km): Fredrik Dversnes (Uno-X Mobility)

Winner of the K.O.M. primes
Hrušica (36.7 km, cat. III): Filippo Fiorelli (VF Group-Bardiani CSF- Faizane')
Ravnica (98.7 km, cat. III): Negasi Haylu Abreha (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team)
Ravnica (150.9 km, cat. III): Domenico Pozzovivo (VF Group-Bardiani CSF- Faizane')

Leader’s jerseys
Green: Giovanni Aleotti (BORA – hansgrohe)
Red: Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious)
Indigo: Davide Baldaccini (Corratec Vini Fantini)
White: Giulio Pellizzari (VF Group-Bardiani CSF- Faizane')

RESULTS

Photos: Sportida