Ljubljana, 16th June – Stage 2 of Tour of Slovenia started in a sunny weather at 11.00 am in the green park Tivoli in the capital of Slovenia. But for BAHRAIN MERIDA Team it, unfortunately, ended grey, as was the sky at the finish line in the centre of Ljubljana after 169,9 km.
Today’s stage should have been easy with two Cat. III climbs and a flat finish. In the middle of the stage, on the climbs the race became interesting and dynamic. Unfortunately, on the descent from the second climb, Kanstantsin Siutsou badly fell and he was urgently taken to hospital. After the last climb, selection between sprinters was done. Sonny Colbrelli stayed in front with the favorites for GC. But all the other sprinters managed to neutralize advantage in the last 20 km. 30 km before the end of the race there was a storm with such heavy rain, that riders hardly even saw the road. Heavy rain lasted until the final lap and because of slippery road there were many crashes. Sonny barely avoided one crash, about 500 m before the finish line, and so he lost his top position and finished 7th.
Unfortunately, Luka Pibernik was involved in one of the crashes at the very end of the race and he got a 3 stitches on the part of the left shinbone and 1 at the elbow. Luca will be most probably able to continue the race at tomorrow’s queen stage.
After the return from the hospital team doctor Marjan Koršič informed us that Kanstantsin needed to be urgently operated. He has complicated fracture of the left femoral bone. In the next few days there will be more information about the surgery and the view for the future.
Kanstantsin Siutsou’s injury will have consequences not only for this race but most of all for Tour de France. The team wishes Kanstantsin to recover soon and to return on the bike and races as soon as possible.
