Our sprinter overcomes the climbs to put in a top finish.
Rudy Barbier showed that he can get over the climbs and still put in a fine performance in the bunch sprint finish, crossing the line as fifth in Stage 1A of the Tour of Slovakia.
The race opened with a 104km stage which featured three tough climbs roughly halfway through. The last 20km were a long descent to the finish.
Mihkel Räim featured in a six-man escape group that was away most of the stage. The group was caught with 10km to go, setting up the bunch sprint.
“There was a gap in the last corner and I had to do my sprint early,” Rudy said. “The legs are OK.”
The race continued later in the day with a flat 7km individual time trial.
Alexis Renard was our top finisher, in 17th place.
Pictures: Bettini Photo