López Edges Close to the Breakaway as Team Battles the Heat to Kranjska Gora

Stage 4 of the Tour of Slovenia served up the toughest test of the week, 184.7km from Kranj to Kranjska Gora, taking on a brutal 15km HC climb, under scorching heat that shaped the entire day.

Team Novo Nordisk arrived with the breakaway firmly in mind, and after a series of attacks, Juan José López made it into the day’s early move. The peloton, missing a rider of its own in the break, eventually clawed the gap back down and absorbed the move at the foot of the climb only for the race to blow apart all over again on the lower slopes. López found himself in a small chase group fighting to bridge back across to the riders who’d gone clear, missing out by mere seconds before the leaders extended their advantage on the descent, setting up a fierce battle between the breakaway and the chasing peloton behind.

“Today was a tough day with the heat and the mountain,” said López. “As for me, I’m happy to have been in the breakaway for a while and to be feeling good again after my operation. Well done to the whole team for fighting right to the end. At the start there was some cooperation, but halfway through the climb there were just three of us left, and we rode together for much of the race we were unable to catch up with the riders who had broken away by just a few seconds. Tomorrow we try again.”

It’s a small margin with a lot behind it: López’s return to the front of the race comes off the back of surgery, and being in the mix on a day like this is a genuine marker of his progress.

Behind him, David Lozano put the team’s interests above his own from early in the stage. Feeling below his best almost from the start, he switched into full support mode shuttling water and ice back to his teammates to help them survive the heat. When Antonio Polga began to feel the effects of the pace on the final climb, Lozano stayed with him as long as he could, riding right to his limit. With 5km still to climb, his body gave him no more to give, empty and lightheaded, and he wisely settled into a steady rhythm to see out the finish safely.

“I’ve been helping the guys with water and ice to keep them hydrated all day,” said Lozano. “Five km from the top of the 15km HC climb, I started to feel my body completely empty and a bit dizzy, so I just took it steady and made it to the finish.”

A demanding day in extreme heat, but one defined by the team riding for each other, López showing he’s back amongst the action, and Lozano putting the collective ahead of his own result.