Polga flies the flag in the break and Terrier 15th in Slovakia

On the opening stage of the 70th edition of Okolo Slovenská Antonio Polga showed once again why he’s one of the most consistent riders for Team Novo Nordisk with the 27 year old Italian animating the race from the front as part of the day’s breakaway while neo pro Lucas Terrier placed a very respectable 15th in the final.

Polga showed determination and perseverance over the opening hour of racing around Kosice as attack after attack was foiled until the Vicenza native found the right moment and sped away with five other riders to form the days early move.

“It was a big goal for us today to be out front,” began Polga. “Massimo made it very clear this morning in the meeting that the final would be tough for us so we needed to be visible in the breakaway and try to make those moments count.”

“Once we got going the group collaborated really well and I tried to sprint for the KOM points – but each time I ended up 4th out of 6th. I know I’m not so explosive, but it was great to get out there again, it’s been a while since my last breakaway and I’m looking forward to trying again this week.”

The sprinters teams had kept Polga’s group in check throughout and they were caught within the last 30km of the stage with the focus now shifting to the finale and a chance for 19 year old Terrier to show what he can do. 

“It’s a nice start for the race for us – pretty good,” said Terrier. “We needed to get into the breakaway at the start that was the first goal and Antonio did a great job by being there for us. From there the stage was pretty steady and controlled until the last 40km where QuickStep started to push on the climbs and the race came back together at the front but split at the back.”

“We wanted to try to work for Juanjo in the final and David did a good job driving us through, but unfortunately we lost each other the last few km and Juanjo had to do a big effort to get back up to the front. 

“He emptied the tank a bit, so he told me to go for it. I just dug in and tried to do my best at the end and I’m quite pleased with 15th, it’s a positive start to the week and it gives me confidence for the next stages.”