Rui Oliveira sprints to 3rd place in Slovenia

UAE Team Emirates got off to a flying start in the inaugural stage of the Tour of Slovenia, 151.5 km from Ptuj to Rogaska Slatina.

The Emirati team took 3rd place in the sprint thanks to Rui Oliveira, after some tireless work by Stake Laengen to neutralise the six rider breakaway.

In the closing kilometres, Tadej Pogačar was also at the head of the peloton, working for his teammates before Matteo Trentin took over as the last man for Rui Oliveira. The Portuguese rider, despite a good acceleration, was beaten by the winner Phil Bauhaus ( Bahrain-Victorious) and by Jon Aberasturi (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA).

Both Pogačar and Trentin were involved in an early crash, both without ny serious consequences.

Rui Oliveira : “It was a nervous start with a few crashes, Trentin had a hard one but thankfully he’s ok. We planned to do a sprint with him but with his crash we decided that I would sprint. The guys did an amazing job in the finish for me and I had good legs. It was amazing to have champions like Tadej and Diego working for me and I appreciate it. I look forward to paying them back this week.It’s my first podium since I joined the team and I hope for many more. ”

The 2nd stage will start from Zalec and will end, after 147 km, in Celje with the last 2000 meters climbing (average gradient of 6.7% and peaks of 12%).

 
Stage 1 results
1. Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) 3h33’45 ”
2. Jon Aberasturi (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) s.t.
3. Rui Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates) s.t.

General classification after the 1st stage
1. Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) 3h33’35 ”
2. Jon Aberasturi (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) +4 ”
3. Rui Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates) +6 ”

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The 4th stage of the Tour de Suisse proposed a spectacular arrival on a runway at the Saanen airport in Gstaad: under heavy rain, the Swiss Stefan Bissegger (Ef-Nippo) dominated in a three-man sprint over Benjamin Thomas (Groupama- FDJ) and Joey Rosskopf (Rally Cycling).

The main group, which split on the climb of Saanenmoser Pass (7.5 km at 4.4,% with brow at 9.5 km from the finish) reached the finish 5’16 “ behind the winner; Juan Sebastian Molano put in a solid sprint to take 6th on the line.

Mathieu Van Der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) remains at the top of the general classification, with Marc Hirschi in 14th place (+52 “)
The riders will go tomorrow from Gstaad to Leukerbad, 175.2 km with an uphill finish (4.1 km at 7%).

Molano: “Today was certainly a complicated race. The team did a good job with De la Cruz and Troia helping me navigate me down the descent which could have been dangerous given the rain. In the final, Gibbons led out the sprint in the best possible way and I gave everything I had. ”

Stage 4 results

1. Stefan Bissegger (Ef-Nippo) 3h46’21 ”
2. Benjamin Thomas (Groupama-FDJ) s.t.
3. Joey Rosskopf (Rally) s.t.
6. Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates) + 5’16 “

General classification after the 6th stage

1. Mathieu Van Der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) 12h40’51 ”
2. Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quik Step) +1 ”
3. Stefan Kung (Groupama-FDJ) +4 ”
15. Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) +52 “