Queen stage shreds the field at Tour of Slovakia

On paper it was the hardest stage of this year’s Okolo Slovenska/Tour of Slovakia and that proved to be the case in reality as the peloton split to pieces over the six categorized climbs with Andrea Peron and Charles Planet both unfortunately caught up in crashes and the rest of Team Novo Nordisk working hard for each other to survive and make it to the finish line.

David Lozano (ESP):

“The second half of today’s stage was brutal, with two second category climbs and three first category coming in 100km. The whole bunch was split into small groups, and it became just about coming through it. Peter, Sam and I were in a good group together and we made it.”

“It was bad luck with Charles and Andrea both involved in crashes today, they both went down pretty hard, and I hope that they’re both ok. Especially Charles, this is his first race back after so long out. A crash was the last thing he needed.”

Head Sports Director, Massimo Podenzana:

“Today was one of those days that happens once in a while. You know it’s going to be tough from the outset because the roadbook shows you the profile and you can see how many climbs there are. Then instead of a large break going, its only three riders, so you know they’re not getting far and that what little respite you may have hoped for is now disappearing up the road with the rest of the peloton…and then the crashes happen.”

“To have both Andrea and Charles go down heavily was terrible luck. Andrea managed to finish, and we will see how he recovers tonight, but Charles hit his leg and has some swelling so will need some time to recover.”