Race report | 15 September 2023, 15:35

Bouwman seventh in third stage Tour of Slovakia; Vader tightens grip on mountain jersey

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Koen Bouwman has finished seventh in the third stage of the Tour of Slovakia. The Dutchman of Team Jumbo-Visma went along with an attack by teammate Milan Vader on the tough final climb and sprinted to a top-ten finish, some three seconds behind stage winner Andrea Bagioli. Vader extended his lead in the mountains classification.

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The yellow-black formation maintained control in the early stages. Vader picked up 12 valuable points on the first climb, after which a lead group of five riders broke away from the peloton. They were caught after an attack by Vader on the final climb. Bouwman and Gijs Leemreize steadily followed the Dutchman, but the trio had no answer to a late attack by general classification leader Rémi Cavagna, Michele Gazzoli, Stefan Küng and stage winner Bagioli. Bouwman sprinted to seventh.

"The goal today was to keep the lead in the mountains and young rider classification."

Robert Wagner

"The goal today was to keep the lead in the mountains and young rider classification”, sports director Robert Wagner said. "We managed to do that. Of course, we also wanted to win the stage, because there was a nice climb in the final. Milan attacked as planned, and Koen and Gijs were also well positioned. Ultimately, we made a small mistake by not reacting to Küng’s attack. It’s unfortunate, but that can happen in a race like this. The fact that the guys are in good shape is a plus. We are competitive and have two good opportunities ahead of us.”