Luka Mezgec wins in front of front crowd and goes in green

Slovenian fans were not scared off by the heavy rain that made thing very complicated in the last hour of today’s stage with finish in Ljubljana – and they were awarded by fantastic victory of Luka Mezgec (Orica-Scott). Roberto Ferrari (UAE Team Emirates) and Mark Renshaw (Dimension Data) were second and third. Luka absolutely controlled the last meters of the race and also took the overall lead.

Peaceful stage changed to real chaos in the last kilometers of the race – roads became slippery after the heavy storm and we witnessed several crashes. Team Orica-Scott gave most energy in the chase and they controlled last kilometers on the streets of Ljubljana – today they wanted a ravage and a sprint finish with no surprises. They had put Luka Mezgec in the perfect position and Slovenian ace delivered! It wasn’t really a sprint, but more a solo victory with the large gap on the last finish straight! This is what Slovenians wanted in their capital city!

Luka Mezgec: “It was really difficulty. Rain started with about 10k to go, but my team did a fantastic job. They kept me up in front for the whole final part of the stage. In the last kilometer I saw guys were crashing. I looked back and I saw Mark Renshaw waiting for Mark Cavendish and there I decided it’s time to go. I knew all the corners are slippery, so I knew that I have the advantage if I’m just 20 meters ahead. I went all-out.

Yesterday was a bit bitter with the third, today I really wanted to win. This is a capital of Slovenia and I knew there are going to be a lot of people. We passed town where I was born and where I train when I’m at home. It’s just incredible.”

Luka Mezgec won ahead of Italian Roberto Ferrari (UAE Team Emirates) and Australian Mark Renshaw (Team Dimension Data). Another Mark from team Dimension Data, Brit Mark Cavendish was not in the battle for the victory, he crossed the finish line with gap of over two minutes. One report says that he’s involved in one of the crashes in Ljubljana.

Luka Mezgec didn’t get just a trophy of a dragon – symbol of Ljubljana – but he’s now also in the green jersey of the race leader.

Stage development was similar to first one, except that this time seven riders escaped. They had maximum gap of four and a half minutes, but the group was getting smaller after the first mountain finish on Slivna and the pace of peloton was increasing. Last of the breakaway riders were caught in Ig, about 15 kilometers to the finish line. Even before that Kanstantsin Siutsou (Bahrain – Merida) crashed and first unofficial report says he’s a broken femur.

Last lap on the streets of Ljubljana was intense and nervous, everybody was trying to get up in the front, but the roads became tricky. Last big crash happened in front of the building of the Slovenian national television, just one right turn ahead of the finish straight. But this times rider didn’t sustain any serious injuries.

Final words of today’s report will again go to Race Director Bogdan Fink: “Second stage with start and finish in Ljubljana was actually beautiful. Everything went smoothly to the point when the storm appeared and caused problems with the satellite uplink, hence the interruption in the live broadcast. But everything turned out well on the end. We again saw a group crash in the final moments of the stage, but again with no serious injuries. I can say I'm completely happy with the development and the finish of the stage.”

Saturday’s stage from Celje to Rogla will feature a long finish climb and will most likely decide who will be the overall winner of the race.

Photos by Vid Ponikvar / Sportida