Teamwork and togetherness on stage 3 of Tour of Slovenia

Stage 3 of the Tour of Slovenia raised the stakes, taking the peloton 133.5km from Maribor to Celje over two categorised climbs Planina na Pohorju and Celjska Koča that turned the day into a genuine fight for the breakaway.

Sam Brand, who featured in the day-one breakaway earlier in the race, was once again determined to get into the mix. With the climbs making for a far more selective fight than the previous two stages, it took considerably longer than usual for the move of the day to form. After a number of strong attempts from Brand and his teammates, the peloton ultimately only allowed a small group of three riders to go clear.

With the main breakaway gone, the team regrouped and turned its attention to positioning, working together as a unit to keep their jersey visible near the front of the bunch heading into the final climb.

Sam Brand said:

“Today was about being positive, we knew it would be a fight for the breakaway as there were two big climbs and I wanted to be positive and try to go in the break again. It took a lot longer to go and after a number of strong attempts from me and the guys, the group only let a small attack go. We regrouped and worked for good position as a team heading into the final climb. We are always looking for more and to show our jersey at the front. We will take it day by day and look to be positive again on stage 4.”

The team will now turn its focus to Stage 4, the queen stage of the race, which takes the peloton over the legendary Vršič Pass before a long descent into Kranjska Gora, another opportunity to be on the front foot.