UAE Team Emirates continued to dominate the top positions in the Tour of Slovenia on Saturday, and it was clear spirits were high as cycling stars Rafal Majka and Tadej Pogacar crossed the finish line.
The competition comes to a close on Sunday, with the Emirates colleagues in pole position to contest first place in the fifth and final stage. In fact, the pair were so relaxed on Saturday's penultimate test that they used rock, paper, scissors to determine who should win.
Tour de France titleholder Pogacar led the general classification ahead of team-mate Majka before the 95-mile journey from Lasko to Velika Planina. Boasting a gap of almost one minute prior to that stage, the pair almost doubled that cushion after breaking out five kilometres from the end of the fourth stage.
The pair ended up so far ahead of the rest of the field that they could afford to play a game among themselves ahead of the finish line. Majka emerged as victor to claim his second stage win of the Tour, with his paper beating Pogacar's rock.
Fernando Barcelo of Caja Rural–Seguros RGA finished 22 seconds behind the Emirates duo and is ninth in the general classification ahead of Sunday's decider. Bar any major surprises, Pogacar should continue his streak of success and retain the Tour of Slovenia title he first won last year.
The rock, paper, scissors sighting summed up the camaraderie that's helped put UAE Team Emirates on top in Slovenia. One can also see it's been a team effort considering Majka leads both the mountains and points classifications despite his colleague setting the pace in the general.
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That feel-good vibe was evident when Majka was asked about the finish-line incident after Saturday's stage. The Pole won the Tour of Slovenia himself in 2017 and appears to be enjoying the challenge alongside different competition.
“With him it’s…” Majka said in a post-race interview before breaking into laughter. “He said, ‘ok you go for the stage’. We did a small bit, but he still tells me: you can win today. I’m still really happy, and this is good before the Tour de France. We try to be safe and also win whole GC with Tadej and bring it home.”
Their Tour de France hopes appear promising as the pair close in on this year's blockbuster, which is due to start on July 1. Pogacar has won the last two editions of the Tour and could become just the sixth cyclist to make it three in a row.
