Paul Double took a stunning solo victory in the Queen stage of the Okolo Slovenska, sealing the general classification victory in the process for Team Jayco-AlUla. The Australian team were on the offensive all day with Team Visma-Lease a Bike, but despite the efforts of Bart Lemmen and fellow Brit Thomas Gloag, who finished second and third both the stage and in the overall standings, it was Double who was able to move clear to take just his second professional win.
Second to Soudal-QuickStep’s Paul Magnier on each of the previous four stages, Slovakian national champion Lukáš Kubiš (Unibet Tietema Rockets) put in a heroic effort, part of the day’s early break and then managing to stay with the lead group until the second half of the final climb when he finally lost touch, finishing in a still impressive 6th place on the general classification.
