Giacomo Nizzolo sprinted to victory on the final stage of the Tour of Slovenia. The Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka rider was able to get the better of Luka Mezgec (Mitchelton-Scott) and Shane Archbold (Bora-Hansgrohe) at the line in Novo Mesto.
The final stage of the Tour of Slovenia got underway in pouring rain, but it wasn’t so much the weather that was playing on the minds of the riders. A category 3 climb that peaked just 29km from the finish would be the major factor in today’s 167km race.
Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka were hoping to set up our Italian, Giacomo Nizzolo for the final, in the hope that he would be able to contest for the stage if he made it over the climb with the front group.
Bernhard Eisel did a lot work controlling the early breakaway attempts before Gazprom and UAE-Emirates took the race on, on the climb. Over the top there was roughly only 30 riders left in contention but importantly for us, Nizzolo was able to make this selection.
With the chase group over a minute down by the bottom of the climb, it was clear the front group would contest for the victory. It was a very technical finish with a narrow-left hand corner at 350m to go before a slight uphill cobble road to the line.
Nizzolo made a strong move down the inside before the left corner, taking 2nd wheel around the bend. The Italian then launched his sprint early but showed he had great legs as he powered away from the rest, taking a brilliant victory, his 2nd win of the season.
Giacomo Nizzolo