Bilbao takes victory for Gino, Aleotti defends the green jersey

Spaniard Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) won the queen mountain stage from Škofljica to Krvavec, but the battle for the overall victory on the 30^th Tour of Slovenia is still not decided. Giovanni Aleotti (BORA - Hansgrohe) has defended his lead and has a very good chance to win the race. Domen Novak (UEA Team Emirates) finished ninth.

The stage we’ve all been waiting for! The hardest stage of the race was again full of intense racing, with eight riders creating an early breakaway that lasted all the way to the start of the climb on Krvavec. There, the contenders for the overall victory came to the front and the group quickly started to stretch and fell apart. Team Bahrain Victorious, led by Bilbao, was in the front for most of the time and the reword for hard work was a stage victory. However, the Spaniard couldn't quite shake off the closest rivals, Giovanni Aleotti (BORA - Hansgrohe), Paul Double (Team Polti Kometa), Giulio Pellizzari and Domenico Pozzovivo (both VF Group-Bardiani CSF- Faizane'). Next to the stage victory this was also the battle for the overall standings, which Aleotti won again today. The race will therefor decide tomorrow on the climb to Trška gora, just kilometers before the finish line.

Domen Novak crossed the finish line 17 seconds behind in 9th place and is also the best Slovenian in the overall standings. He’s 13th with the gap of almost two minutes.

Pello Bilbao: “After yesterday's stage we're pretty confident that today it's going to be a perfect stage for me. It's also a very important date for me, this is perfect stage to dedicate to Gino. I took this victory almost one year later after the stage win on Tour. In the end I could go for the leader's jersey, but I wanted to ensure the stage victory. Did a huge effort in the last 500 meters, was just thinking to make it to the line. For sure this is special day for us. This gives me big confidence towards Tour de France. I was sick and couldn't go to Switzerland and had to change the plan. Luckily there was a plan B and was able to go to Slovenia. It's really nice and interesting race, I think this is going to be a key point for me going towards Tour de France.”

 Also worth mentioning:
- For the first time ever Tour of Slovenia and main sponsor Telekom Slovenije introduced the blue line. We marked a 100-metre long section with the blue line and thus made an appeal to the fans to stay inside their corridor and support the riders in a responsible matter. The purpose of the campaign is to raise awareness and also show a positive practice to other race organizers.
- Italian team VF Group-Bardiani CSF - Faizane' has more than obviously came to Slovenia with high ambitions. Today they were again the team of the day, and they continue to lead the overall team standings. Yesterday they had three riders in the top ten, today they had two. Giulio Pellizzari is also leading the rankings for young riders.
- Today's stage had over 2800 altitude meters, which is a lot, but not much more than the second stage with a few more than 2600 meters. The second stage had 600 meters less than today's stage. This clearly shows the difficulty of Thursday's and Friday's stages, where many riders had serious problems.

Winners of the intermediate sprints
Ig (21 km): Tomáš Kalojíros (Pierre Baguette Cycling)
Škofja Loka (65.9 km): Tomáš Kalojíros (Pierre Baguette Cycling)
Kamnik: (121.2 km): Tomáš Kalojíros (Pierre Baguette Cycling)

Zmagovalci gorskih ciljev
Golo (14.3 km): Mihael Štajnar (Ljubljana Gusto Santic)
Topol (51 km): Davide Baldaccini (Corratec Vini Fantini)
Čepulje (81.3 km): Davide Baldaccini (Corratec Vini Fantini)
Krvavec (147.2 km): Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious)

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

RESULTS

Photos: Sportida