Peron sprints to fifth in Slovakia with Ridolfo tenth

Team Novo Nordisk captain Andrea Peron produced a vintage performance on stage four of Okolo Slovenska today as the 36 year old Italian sprinted into the top five, shaking off yesterdays disappointment and showing a clean pair of heels with compatriot Filippo Ridolfo close behind in 10th.

With the totally flat 170km parcours a bunch sprint was really the only outcome on the cards. After a late scare with some echelons before the closing circuits was avoided, the days break was caught in controlled fashion with 10km to go and the sprinters took over.

“I felt good when we arrived here in Slovakia and and today’s finish was probably the best of them all for me,” said Peron. “There was some wind out there that we had to be wary of, some technical points on the laps but otherwise it was all about being as fresh as possible at the end.”

“Well that was the plan beforehand. Unfortunately I went down in a crash with 80km to go and landed hard on my shoulder, but thankfully it looks like there’s no major damage so hopefully it won’t be too sore tomorrow. I was still able to sprint and it’s nice to have Pippo up there in the top ten too.”