Ide Schelling (Bora-Hansgrohe) won stage 3 of the Tour of Slovenia in Postojna, pipping Luka Mezgec (Jayco-AlUla) by a matter of centimetres. Robin Froidevaux (Tudor Pro Cycling) was third.
It was a hectic finale as the peloton went in the wrong direction with 800 metres to go. Italian champion Filippo Zana (Jayco-AlUla), pushing the pace for teammate and race leader Dylan Groenewegen, went straight on at a roundabout with 40 other frontrunners, instead of turning left.
Groenewegen kept the race lead after it was initially given to Schelling. The time gap caused by the error was not included in the general classification.
The 25-year-old’s immediate post-race thoughts were understandably not on bike racing.
“A friend of mine just passed. These are not tears of joy, but of sadness for Gino Mäder,” Schelling said afterwards.
“I gave up with one k [kilometre]. I didn’t want to crash because it was dangerous, wet and slippery,” he added about what will go down as the strangest victory of his career. “So I thought I wouldn’t get in the mix for a top 10. But then everyone went the wrong way.
“I went left, got the perfect lead-out and won. I gave up: even with 600 metres to go, I was maybe last guy of the bunch so I thought I’d go for it. But all the joy is gone immediately,” he said, referring to the death of his fellow pro after a crash at the Tour de Suisse.
The day’s breakaway, which included former WorldTour rider Kristijan Koren (Adria Mobil), was pulled back with 20km to go.
Bahrain Victorious leader Matej Mohorič forced the pace with a couple of accelerations over the day’s last hill, to no avail.
The pace and sharp climb dropped Groenewegen, who won the race’s opening two stages. Work from his Jayco-AlUla squad got him back in contention with six kilometres to go.
It all amounted to nothing after a facepalm moment for Zana, hitting warp speed and missing the left turn at a roundabout. Groenewegen and several other leading sprinters did too. Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) and a Bahrain Victorious rider hit the deck as riders ploughed straight on.
Groenewegen’s lead-out man Mezgec found himself second wheel with an unexpected opportunity for personal glory. But in a sprint for opportunists, Schelling came from seven wheels back, accelerating on a slight rise with 250 metres to go. He stole the jump on the rest and held off the experienced Slovenian.
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