Zana wins Tour of Slovenia as Mohoric takes final stage

Filippo Zana (Jayco-AlUla) sealed overall victory at the 2023 Tour of Slovenia, finishing in second place on the hilly closing stage in Novo Mesto as part of a two-man late attack.

The Italian road champion joined Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) on the attack after the Slovenian jumped just inside the final 10km of the 142km stage. He missed out in the sprint as Mohorič sat on before coming around in the final dash to the line but became the fourth Italian winner of the race after taking the lead on Saturday.

16 seconds later, Luka Mezgec (Jayco-AlUla) led home a select chase group including Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) who finishes third overall, 23 seconds behind Zana, while Mohorič jumps up to take second at 18 seconds down.

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Mohorič and Zana had broken clear 10km out on the steep final climb of the day, Trska Gora, which measured in at 1.7km and a 9.8% average. Mohorič, who paid tribute to his teammate Gino Mäder as he crossed the line, used his descending skills to drop Zana on the way down the other side before the Italian got back on.

Behind them, the chase group including Ulissi and other GC hopefuls Giovanni Aleotti (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Jesús David Peña (Jayco-AlUla) couldn't close the gap, while third-placed Lorenzo Fortunato (Eolo-Kometa) was losing his position in the third group on the road. 

In the end the Italian would slip down three places to sixth as Mohorič leapt up four places with his first win of the season to take second overall. Zana, meanwhile, could celebrate another win to go with his stage 18 triumph at the Giro d'Italia.

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