Primoz Roglic placed third in Tirreno-Adriatico’s stage to Fermo, Italy, behind Peter Sagan today. In an uphill sprint, only world champion Sagan and Thibaut Pinot slipped by, but by fighting for third, he moved from seventh to fourth place overall at 1-15 minutes behind leader Nairo Quintana.

“We’d hoped, but certainly did not expect this from Roglic,” said Sports Director Jan Boven. “A big compliment to the team, which worked great all day for Roglic on a difficult course. He once again rose in the standings. Now, it is important to hold on to it until the time trial on Tuesday and see how far he can go.''

In the stage, 11 riders broke away and gained four minutes on the peloton. With 90 kilometers to go, the breakaway was reeled in. In the hectic final, Roglic stood his ground on the ramps into Fermo and sprinted uphill elbow-to-elbow with Sagan.

Tomorrow, the team will face a relatively flat stage to Citivanova Marche. Boven added, “Perhaps Battaglin or Lobato can race for a good result. Lobato’s first concern is to boost his fitness towards the rest of the season.”