Tadej Pogacar and Rafal Majka made it clear again on Saturday in the queen stage that they are by far the best riders in the Tour of Slovenia. Two-time Tour winner Pogacar awarded the stage victory on top of the ski plateau Velika Planina to his teammate.
Pogacar and Majka rode away together on the tough final climb (8.2 kilometers at 7.6 percent) and had plenty of time in the final kilometer to determine who could cross the finish line first through a game of rock-paper-scissors. Majka won and got the stage win.
It was his second win of the week for the 32-year-old Pole. On Wednesday he was already the best in the first stage. Then he was in a leading group with Pogacar and the Slovenian Damen Novak of Bahrain Victorious.
Novak finished 11th on Saturday 55 seconds behind Majka. The Spaniard Fernando Barceló (Caja Rural-Seguros) was the best of the rest in third place (+22 seconds). The field of participants in the Tour of Slovenia is relatively not very strong.
Pogacar himself was the best on Friday in the third stage of the stage race in his home country, ahead of number two Majka. The leader of UAE Team Emirates therefore rode in the green leader’s jersey on Saturday. Pogacar starts the hilly final stage in Slovenia on Sunday with a three-second lead over Majka.
It was a special stage for Pogacar on Saturday anyway. The route of the ride came through his hometown of Komenda. On Tuesday at a press moment, he already predicted: “I will drive through Komenda with goosebumps.”
For app users, tap the tweet to watch Majka and Pogacar play rock-paper-scissors right before the finish.