The Australian WorldTour team Jayco AlUla dominated in the Tour of Slovenia Queen stage with Filippo Zana and Jesús David Peña, winning the stage and taking a solid GC lead, despite Zana crashing hard on the descent.
The first and only mountain stage of the 2023 Tour of Slovenia did not disappoint and there was a more open list of possible winners without Tadej Pogačar on the startline this year. The GC group did the first Kolovrat climb (10.1 km, 8.9%) in 33 minutes at 5.50 ᵉW/Kg. Before the second ascent of Kolovrat, the Italian champion Filippo Zana spent 2,910 kilojoules for 3:31h which was 12.49 kj/kg/h, a moderate tempo.
Jayco AlUla had numbers with Jesús David Peña and Filippo Zana. The Colombian was pulling for his teammate and shredding the GC group which also included Diego Ulissi, Paul Double, Lorenzo Fortunato and Matteo Badilatti. It was a good chance for the lower-tier climbers to get a victory at .Pro level.
Paul Double broke the Rocacorba KOM this Spring, one of the most prestigious climbs in Girona where many pro riders train. In his first year as a pro Double attacked his rivals early, with only Giro stage winner Zana able to hold his wheel. Double attacked too early and was dropped by Zana and other riders later when he blew up.
Zana was the fastest on Kolovrat, doing 6.20 ᵉW/Kg for 30:56 min. His teammate, Peña, who pulled in the first part of the climb was second at the top, only 14 seconds behind, while the third group with Fortunato, Badilatti, Double and Ulissi lost 35 seconds.
On the descent, Zana crashed and was surpassed by his teammate Jesús David Peña, the latter of whom won the stage with a 17-second gap over the following group with Zana, Ulissi and Fortunato. Double lost more time on the descent and was 8th at the finish.
Filippo Zana crash
It was the first pro win in the 23-year-old Colombian's career, midway through the final year of his contract. Unfortunately for Peña, he lost 33 seconds in a sprint stage and is only 5th in GC, while his teammate Zana goes into the leader's jersey before the last stage.
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