BRATISLAVA. The target climb was the same as five years ago. At that time, Peter Sagan was extremely strong in it. Practically unbeatable.
Shortly before starting his sprint up the hill, he kicked his foot off the pedal and almost stopped. Nevertheless, he ran again and won.
This time he could again be among the favorites for the top position, but the climb of the Côte de Pulventeux made his plans difficult. Although it was only 800 meters long, the slope of 12.3 percent took care of the thinning of the leading group.
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And although the pace was not as overwhelming as in the fourth stage with the victory of Wout van Aertthe Slovak cyclist could not keep in touch with the best.
Subsequently, he hung his legs and arrived at the finish line with a deficit of more than five minutes. “It was a lot harder than before. And then I wasn’t in the front anymore,” Sagan said.
“Already on the penultimate hill, all the fast racers went away, some even earlier. It was a significantly tougher finish than five years ago. We had three hills before the last one, which was not the case in the past,” added sports director Ján Valach.
It would be an exemplary cooperation at the World Cup
After the three-time world champion, Tadej Pogačar took over the baton in Longwy. He showed dynamism in his legs and also had the necessary luck.
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He had a ready Michael Matthews behind him, who was second in the mentioned Sagan’s victory. So he knew Koncovka better and was on paper the fastest driver of the leading group.
However, while the Australian guarded the man in the white jersey, Primož Roglič attacked from behind him. It was far from the target. He could hardly finish it.
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