Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) has claimed gold in the Slovenian TT championships today, beating Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma) into 2nd place.
Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates) took the bronze medal and Jani
Brajkovič (Adria Mobil), who is back racing after a doping ban, showed he is
still able to perform well when he placed 4th.
The 15.7km TT course in Pokljuka featured a testing 7.9km climb, with some of the riders opting for a bike change.
Pogacar clocked a time of 31:10, some nine seconds faster
than Roglic and 1:47 quicker than team mate Polanc in 3rd place.
The order of 1st and 2nd was a
reversal of how they finished in the Slovenian road race championships last
week when Roglic got the upper hand on the uphill finish.
However, on that occasion Pogacar crashed so the head-to-head
between the top two Slovenians was somewhat compromised. Today’s win for
Pogacar meant he defend the TT crown he won last year.
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Brajkovič, who tested positive in July, 2018, for the
stimulant methylhexaneamine, today finished in a time of 33:03; for 4th of the 40-rider
field.
After testing positive two years ago he said the
substance was contained in a dietary supplement which he was taking because he
had bulimia and it was a meal replacement he was able to keep down.
Now aged 36 years, he came back to competition last
October. The 2010 Critérium du Dauphiné winner and 9th place finisher in the
2012 Tour de France is now riding for Slovenian Continental team Adria Mobil.
The results of the championships were in line with
predictions that Pogacar and Roglic would dominate. And while their form coming
out of the Covid19 pandemic period will not be truly tested until they return
to international competition, early signs are that both are on track for a
strong Tour.
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