OK, this is not the biggest nor the most inspiring race in the world – but it has nicely designed route, startlist including several WT/PCT teams and it has been put into the calendar right before the TdF, so it could be also seen as a prep race. So I will take the risk and will start a new separate dedicated thread.
Stage 1: Koper – Kocevje, 159 km
A rather short stage in the rolling terrain, with one bigger climb at the beginning and some little bumps later on, but the last kilometers are completely flat. A sprinter should take this one.
Stage 2: Ljubljana – Ljubljana, 170 km
Same story – some small and easy climbs in the second half of the race before flat ending. Bunch sprint should be expected again.
Stage 3: Celje – Rogla, 168 km
The queen stage and most probably the GC decider. After a warm-up including two categorized climbs (which do not seem very hard, but still) the riders will have to face the only MTF of the race – Rogla. This is a quite serious climb, with almost 14 km of length and more than 7% average slope.
Stage 4: Rogaska Slatina – Novo Mesto, 158 km
Flat stage, finish after three laps in Novo Mesto.
Startlist:
WT/PCT:
Dimension Data (Cavendish, Cummings)
UAE (Polanc, Ferrari)
Orica (Mezgec)
Bora (Majka, Koenig, Bennett)
Bahrain (Colbrelli, Visconti, Sioutsou)
Wilier (Mareczko, Pozzato)
Androni
Gazprom (Foliforov)
Nippo (Cunego)
CT:
Adria Mobil
Sangemini - MG. Kvis
Tirol
Elkov – Author
Meridiana Kamen (Rabottini)
Synergy Baku
Hrinkow
ROG – Ljubljana
+ Slovenia national team
Probably not the best line-up in terms of overall strength, but several good sprinters are there (Cav is back together with all his sprint train, Ferrari, Mezgec, Bennett, Mareczko). Among those who have GC ambitions for the TdF, only Majka decided to participate.
Stage 1: Koper – Kocevje, 159 km
A rather short stage in the rolling terrain, with one bigger climb at the beginning and some little bumps later on, but the last kilometers are completely flat. A sprinter should take this one.
Stage 2: Ljubljana – Ljubljana, 170 km
Same story – some small and easy climbs in the second half of the race before flat ending. Bunch sprint should be expected again.
Stage 3: Celje – Rogla, 168 km
The queen stage and most probably the GC decider. After a warm-up including two categorized climbs (which do not seem very hard, but still) the riders will have to face the only MTF of the race – Rogla. This is a quite serious climb, with almost 14 km of length and more than 7% average slope.
Stage 4: Rogaska Slatina – Novo Mesto, 158 km
Flat stage, finish after three laps in Novo Mesto.
Startlist:
WT/PCT:
Dimension Data (Cavendish, Cummings)
UAE (Polanc, Ferrari)
Orica (Mezgec)
Bora (Majka, Koenig, Bennett)
Bahrain (Colbrelli, Visconti, Sioutsou)
Wilier (Mareczko, Pozzato)
Androni
Gazprom (Foliforov)
Nippo (Cunego)
CT:
Adria Mobil
Sangemini - MG. Kvis
Tirol
Elkov – Author
Meridiana Kamen (Rabottini)
Synergy Baku
Hrinkow
ROG – Ljubljana
+ Slovenia national team
Probably not the best line-up in terms of overall strength, but several good sprinters are there (Cav is back together with all his sprint train, Ferrari, Mezgec, Bennett, Mareczko). Among those who have GC ambitions for the TdF, only Majka decided to participate.
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