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One-day races in August

If you don’t race on La Vuelta, then your August schedule consists of one-day races. After the European Championship Jan raced in Hamburg at the BEMER Cyclassics and in Plouay at the Bretagne Classic. Marco Haller (BORA – Hansgrohe) won the BEMER Cyclassics in a bunch sprint. Tratnik’s racing was compromised by a bunch crash, in which he luckily wasn’t involved but the damage was done anyway.

“After European Championship I very quickly refocused as new races and challenges were on the horizon. I traveled to Hamburg where I was aiming at some good results. The first part of the race was relatively calm until we made it to the finishing circuit. The speed increased significantly, and you could feel the tension and stress in the peloton because of the narrow roads and positioning before the climbs, which caused a bunch crash. Luckily, I wasn’t involved but I lost contact with the leading riders. A little later on, I managed to get back to the first group, but I spent a lot of energy doing that and was not able to follow the best ones on the last climb. Nevertheless, I’m happier to finish the race without new bruises and in one piece.”

A week later, Tratnik traveled northwest of France to race a 255 km long one-day race known as the Bretagne Classic. Jan made the race very exciting with a breakaway, solo ride, and several attacks. Unfortunately, he was caught just a few kilometers from the finish. Wout van Aert (Jumbo Visma) won the race from a small group sprint.  

»Bretagne Classic was on my mind as a special goal for the second part of the season. Also, the team made me the team captain. I seized the given opportunity and decided to attack 70 km to the finish where the terrain became more difficult. There were quite a few riders in the break, but the peloton had us on 30-40 seconds all the time. I had to speed up to avoid being caught early. Later on, in the race, I was solo in front of the break and saw two riders approaching. I decided to wait for them and continue together because we were much stronger if we worked together. The closer we got to the finish line, the more I believed I can win it. Unfortunately, I was caught 4 km to the finish. I attacked one more but was caught after some time. Still, I didn’t give up. I wanted to sprint but had some bad luck there as well. I speeded up from behind, but the group moved to the right and closed my line to the finish. Nevertheless, I’m extremely happy with my performance because it gives me lots of motivation for upcoming races in Canada.”

Photo: Sprint Cycling

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European Championship

Münich hosted this year’s European Championship in cycling. Riders competed in the individual time trial on a dynamic, 24 km long route. Jan Tratnik and Matic Žumer rode for Slovenian National Team. Tratnik had a bad day after a long season and finished 13th one minute and 41 seconds behind the winner of the day – Stephan Bissegger (Switzerland).

»I have to admit this was not what I wanted today. I somehow managed to race solidly in the first part but the second part was a disaster. I’m disappointed but that’s life. I would probably be even more disappointed if I had stayed at home and watched the race on TV. I did my best but didn’t have the right power. Nevertheless, I’ve had worse days. It seems like I’m not in the best shape because my condition changes daily. I hope I will be able to continue the season more successfully.”

The road race took place on Sunday and the Slovenian national team finished 6th with Luka Mezgec. Fabio Jakobsen (the Netherlands) won the 207 km long race in a bunch sprint. Tratnik was working for the team in the last part of the race.

“European championship ended as expected – with a bunch sprint. I tried to go in a breakaway 110 km to the finish because I didn’t want a controlled race. However, the other teams were too organized and didn’t allow for surprises. We worked very well together as a team. We knew we should bring Luka in front, but we didn’t have a lead-out team. We still managed to bring Luka in front in the final laps. That was important because the final laps were very technical, and you could save a lot of energy if you stayed in front. If we compare ourselves with other teams, the rest had their lead-out teams and since we didn’t, I think Luka did amazing finishing 6th.”

Photo: Sprint Cycling & Christof Stache/AFP & Kolesarska zveza Slovenija & Personal Achieve