Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to stage number 2 of the Tour de Slovenie. Yesterday, we witnessed a great win by Duolingo, meaning we'll see Zakkari Dempster in the green leader jersey today.
Today's stage has a rather flat profile for the first 2/3 - or 100km - of the race, containing the stage's only intermediate sprint after 77.1km. On the last 50 kilometers, we then have four steep, categorized climbs, meaning we'll have the first KoM leader by tonight.
The first KoM line will be reached after 104.1km, after the easiest of these 4 climbs - 2.2km long and 5.8% steep on average. The climbs then gradually augment in terms of difficulty, the second one having an average slope of 6.7% and being 1.8km long. The riders will reach the top after 137.5km, having only 16.1km remaining.
Whereas there may still be sufficient time to make up for some gaps between climbs 2 and 3, this second-to-last hill culmiates after 148km, meaning only 5.6km to go - and it's a tough one with 1.3km at 7.9% average slope!
Just a short descent, some flat meters, and then the grande finale: 1.4km with 8.9%, but having 300m with clearly more than 10% slope! Followed by just 300m more or less flat, so it will be very important to accelerate well out of the steep part!
Just for your information: The first and the final climb are rated category 3 (6 - 4 - 2 points), whereas the two "middle" climbs are category 4 (5 - 3 - 1). And bonus seconds will be awarded at the intermediate sprint (6" - 4" - 2") and on the finish line (20", 12", 8").
And before we finally get to watch the action, here's who the bookies consider to be today's favorites: Kelderman, Izagirre and Gautier, followed by Flügel, Bilbao and Waeytens. Dowsett surprisingly only gets one star. But now, let's go!
And as usually, some riders attack directly after the start. Today, it's Setiawa and Matsumoto, followed by...
Ben Nasser! A very strong outsider for this stage! And let's see who is just behind him... We have Scotson, Fiorelli and Wahyudi.
And the action isn't over yet, as Bratashcuk, Bilbao and Pichon try to join them! Three more very strong puncheurs attacking, including even one of the bookies' favorites - will the pack let them go?
The answer is: partially. Dulanjana pushes very hard to get them back, and Bilbao and Pichon aren't insisting. Scotson and Fiorelli are reeled in as well, leaving only 5 riders up front.
But the fun still isn't over, as we can now see Zordan, Hermans and Rocchetti joining Ben Nasser, Bratashcuk and Wahyudi, whereas Setiawa and Matsumoto are further ahead.
In the bunch, it's now Van Aert, Boudat, van Zyl, Dulanjana, Garcia Cortina, Thomas and Cheung taking turns.
But the eight leaders are able to extend their lead, and after 25km of hard racing they crack the one-minute-mark, and the peloton has surrendered for the moment. Therefore, let's have a more detailed look at today's breakaway of the day:
Ben Nasser, Zordan and Bratashcuk are great outsider puncheurs, closely follwed by Wahyudi. Hermans and Rocchetti are decent hilly riders, too, whereas Matsumoto and Setiawa will probably struggle a bit more on the steep inclines. Ben Nasser has the best acceleration and is the strongest sprinter of the group, so if they get a shot at the stage win, he would be the clear favorite - except if Campari could somehow take advantage of their numerical superiority. But before, we still have 125km to go...
Pszczolarski has a bad time little later, as he punctures with 70km to go. And the peloton's speed seems to be rather high, given the quality of riders in the breakaway.
We arrive at today's sole intermediate sprint, won by Matsumoto:
1. Matsumoto
2. Bratashcuk
3. Setiawa
The pack, still led by the same riders as before, trails by 2'29. 76.5km to go.
It's a close call on the first category 3 KoM:
1. Zordan - 6
2. Wahyudi - 4
3. Bratashcuk - 2
The peloton still trails by about 2 minutes. And this first ascent claimed a first victim amongst the BotD, as Setiawa isn't able to keep up with the seven remaining leaders, and is caught with 35km to go.
The pack is now led by Paajanen, with two riders of Valio, Kraftwerk and Lierse taking turns now.
Wow, that's a rather bad surprise for Mottin, who already loses contact with 25km to go! Is it just him, or will other TT specialists get into trouble, too?
Meanwhile, the BotD still has 1'52 on the peloton, even though the latter has been riding at high speed for some kilometers now! We might see a very tense finale!
Ben Nasser then takes the points on the second KoM (category 4):
1. Ben Nasser - 5
2. Hermans - 3
3. Rocchetti - 1
Zordan therefore still the leader in the virtual KoM standings - but two hills left!
van Zyl leads the peloton as they reach the top as well - 1'27 of deficit left, and only 16km remaining for the pack!
As the leaders reach the foot of the penultimate climb, we can observe a split in the peloton! And it's not just "small names" caught behind, as we can see e.g. race leader Dempster, his captain Trofimov, Ignatiev, Pichon, Gougeard, Gebrezgabihier, Bilbao or Zakarin behind - and Barrio even much further! What happened to the Andorra rider? Nothing was visible on TV.
Furthermore, Mottin fading was really a bad omen for the TTers, as lots of them probably fall out of contention today: Ligthart, Robert, Nascimento, Schädlich, Sterobo, Hussein, Viennet, Balloni and Christian are already quite far behind, whereas Archbold, Golovash, Cheung, Bazhkou may still have some hope, as they're "just" in the second group of puncheurs.
Can the "second peloton" still close the gap of 45"? Only 7km to go - but containing two steep climbs! And we should not forget the BotD riders, who still have 59" on the main peloton!
This time, Hermans clearly wins the KoM sprint - and he even gets a gap!
1. Hermans - 5
2. Wahyudi - 3
3. Bratashcuk - 1
Hermans takes the lead in the virtual KoM standings with his 8 points, but there are still 6 - 4 - 2 points at stake!
Hermans now has a 19" gap on his breakaway companions - can he stay ahead all the way until the finish line?
He will need to go really hard, as now the big guns have attacked from the peloton: Flügel - Kelderman - Gautier - Waeytens are already 1'10 ahead of the pack, but still 58" behind Hermans! We're off for a great finale!
And in the peloton, no-one seems to be interested in chasing, as we just see Lierse and Kraftwerk riders up front!
Hermans has extended his lead to 30", whereas Flügel is about to join the 6 remaining BotD riders, followed by Kelderman. Gautier and Waeytens are 20" behind.
The peloton is 1'17 behind this duo, therefore almost 2 minutes behind Hermans. Only 26 riders are left in this group - and Trofimov is back there. We can see former winner Rolland or Durbridge as well, so the TTers haven't lost all hope yet!
Hermans now reaches the red kite! Only one kilometer to go - but it's the hardest one of this stage, with slopes exceeding 10%!
34" behind him, Flügel has now taken the lead in the pursuit, followed by Bratashcuk and Wahyudi. Behind them, we can see on one line Ben Nasser, Zordan, Matsumoto, Rocchetti and Kelderman, who seems to be about to attack!
Then again 23" back, we still have Gautier and Waeytens, who are struggling to close in on this group!
The peloton is 1'22 further back, i.e. more than 2 minutes behind the leader. Will these 34" be sufficient for Hermans, given the extremely steep slopes?
Meanwhile, we can now see Iberia pushing for Izagirre. Duolingo, Euskaltel, ISA are at the front now as well. The stage win seems to be out of reach, but can they gain back some seconds?
The road is really steep, now, and we can still see Hermans ahead with 700m left. Kelderman has now overtaken the whole group and is 2nd, ahead of Flügel. Waeytens and Gautier have finally managed to join the back of the group, but it may be a little late.
Now, that's amazing! Within 200 meters, Gautier has passed the whole group and is about to leave Hermans behind, too! Waeytens and Kelderman are about on level terms, followed by Flügel, Bratashcuk and Zordan. Ben Nasser, Wahyudi, Matsumoto and Rocchetti seem to be done.
The peloton is now led by a very hard pushing Sepulveda - by how much can they reduce the gap on this final kilometer!
Hermans is still ahead, as Gautier really struggles to pass him on these final meters! Can the Belgian get a huge win today?
Yet, there are still 300m left, and the Frenchman should still have the fresher legs - and his great acceleration might come into play now that the roads are getting almost flat again!
Behind the leading duo, Waeytens, Flügel and Kelderman are still fighting for a podium, whereas Bratashcuk just can't keep up any longer, and Zordan seems to have not much left, either!
And it ends like we probably all expected it: Cyril Gautier wins the second stage of this year's Tour de Slovenie! And as no riders of Duolingo, Berg, ISA or Rakuten can be seen yet, he easily takes the leader's jersey as well!
It's going to be a very close call for second, as Hermans still seems to have the edge on Waeytens and Kelderman! Does he have enough energy left?
What a drama for Ben Hermans! As Zico Waeytens and Wilco Kelderman sneak past him on the final meters, he finishes the day on P4 after a huge performance!
Aleksandar Flügel, who initiated the winning move, only gets 5th. At least, he was where he had to be, which other stage favorites can't claim for themselves.
Andrii Bratashcuk and Andrea Zordan on 6th and 7th keep clear of the bunch, too, but were just a tad too weak to keep up with the best puncheurs in the end.
Ion Izagirre gets the best that was still possible out of this stage, by coming in on P8. With him is Eduardo Sepulveda. Both are 1'04 behind today's winner Gautier - a huge deficit, but with both of them being good TTers, the result might not be as bad as it first seems.
The final Top 10 spot is then taken by Yevgeni Nepomnyachsniy, making it an even better day for Valio - Viking Genetics. 18 other riders get the same time, among them Cornu or Rolland. Here are places 11 to 20:
11. Wahyudi
12. Cerny
13. Costa
14. Chiarello
15. Shikai
16. Ben Nasser
17. Mraouni
18. Gonzalez Cortes
19. Houle
20. McEvoy
Bad news for Bilbao or Trofimov, who weren't able to stay in this group and lose 2'16! And it's an even worse day for some TT powerhorses as Robert, Schädlich or Mottin who lose 7+ minutes and will surely be hoping to take their revenge on Stage 4.
And here's our stage winner and new leader, Cyril Gautier from Valio - Viking Genetics! He takes the points jersey as well, whereas Ben Hermans was able to secure the KoM jersey. David Gaudu was today's best U25 rider and gets the lead in this standing, whereas Rakuten Pro Cycling is the best team after stage 2.
Even though Gautier is 51" ahead of Sepulveda in the GC now, the race remains wide open with a very long ITT and a hilly stage remaining - besides tomorrow's flat stage, where we don't expect anything to happen GC-wise.
Sepulveda should be able to make up the deficit in the TT, and 3rd ranked Chiarello might do so, too. Cornu is the first top ITT rider, popping up at P6, exactly one minute back. And even Rolland on P10 is still set for a great result. And of course, we shold clearly not forget Mraouni on P7 and Shikai on P8!
And of course, we'll have another very, very hard hilly stage, so even Izagirre, who has been disappointing today, could still be in contention. But that stage would need to be ridden very fast, in order to get Cornu, Shikai et al. into serious trouble!
But first, let's have some kind of rest tomorrow with an expected sprint finish!
Tour de Slovenie 
