Rein Taaramae (Katusha) capitalised on the form with which he finished the Giro d'Italia to take victory on the crucial stage 2 of the Tour of Slovenia on Friday.
He was followed by two neo-pros; 22-year-old Australian Jack Haig (Orica-GreenEdge) finishing second and 19-year-old Colombian Egan Arley Bernal (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec) third.
"It was so hard today with three big climbs – one at 11km and two at 15km. The last one to Golte averaged 7.3% with gradients up to 23%," Taaramae said. "I had a 36 chainring in the front and even with that chainring it was hard, but I made it. It’s nice, especially since I had to change my bike because of a wheel problem three times in 15 kilometers and just before the last climb. Fortunately I had good legs and a super team.
"Also my team director Claudio Cozzi told me to stay calm. He knew that I would have possibilities on this final climb. He assured me I did not have to panic in advance. At 5km from the finish, we caught the last riders of a five-man breakaway and then some attacks started.
"Our group started to get smaller and smaller with more riders dropped. In the end I stayed in front with my teammate Pavel Kochetkov and Jack Haig from Orica-GreenEdge. I didn’t know that young guy but he was surprisingly strong. Every time I attacked, he followed. That’s why I decided to put in one more big attack. I gave everything for several hundred meters. After 400 meters I saw Haig was dropping meter by meter. I felt the victory was for me but that last kilometer was so steep, around 15%. It seemed to never end, but in the end I made it."
Brief Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rein Taaramae (Est) Team Katusha | 5:46:40 |
| 2 | Jack Haig (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:00:36 |
| 3 | Egan Arley Bernal Gomez (Col) Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | 0:00:50 |
| 4 | Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Team Katusha | 0:00:58 |
| 5 | Jure Golcer (Slo) Adria Mobil | 0:01:01 |
| 6 | Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Slovenia | 0:01:03 |
| 7 | Antonio Santoro (Ita) Meridiana Kamen Team | 0:01:08 |
| 8 | Floris De Tier (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | 0:01:14 |
| 9 | Rodolfo Andres Torres Agudelo (Col) Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | 0:01:18 |
| 10 | José Joa Pimenta Costa Mendes (Por) Bora-Argon 18 | 0:01:20 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rein Taaramae (Est) Team Katusha | 10:14:16 |
| 2 | Jack Haig (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:00:36 |
| 3 | Egan Arley Bernal Gomez (Col) Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | 0:00:50 |
| 4 | Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Team Katusha | 0:00:58 |
| 5 | Jure Golcer (Slo) Adria Mobil | 0:01:01 |
| 6 | Antonio Santoro (Ita) Meridiana Kamen Team | 0:01:08 |
| 7 | Floris De Tier (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | 0:01:14 |
| 8 | Michele Gazzara (Ita) Norda - Mg. K Vis | 0:01:28 |
| 9 | Jan Barta (Cze) Bora-Argon 18 | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
| 10 | Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Slovenia | 0:01:30 |
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