After a thrilling Stage 16 at the 103rd Giro d’Italia, Jan Tratnik secured his first Grand Tour Stage victory after a day in a breakaway from Udine to San Daniele del Friuli. The stage, which took place a mere stone-throw away from Jan’s native Slovenia, provided much spectacle as Jan got caught by Ben O’Connor on penultimate climb of the stage after almost 50 km in a solo breakaway. However, the stage was won after a successful counter attack on a final climb in last kilometer.
“Finally, I won a real race! I was in a bigger breakaway and I knew right away we will make it to the finish. Considering it was stage 16 on the Giro and I still felt strong. When we came to the final laps, me and Boaro went solo 60km until the finish line. Honestly, I wasn’t completely sure we will make it. I said to myself, you idiot, it’s too early. However, not long after that, I saw riders in the breakaway couldn’t organize themselves. I accelerated and lost Boaro. O’Connor caught me on the last climb, but I knew he can’t beat me in the final climb, it was too steep. When I saw my girlfriend, my brother and my friends on the road I got extra energy and I flew till the finish. I’m extremely happy and all the hard work is paying off now. When we were in quarantine, I still did every training I had with my mind on Giro. This was my goal of the season, and to win it, this was my dream. Everything worked out, I’m really happy. I would like to thank everyone for the support, my team, fans, riders, all who cheered for me. This win gave me a lot of confidence and proved that I can win the biggest races. It gives me a special motivation for the upcoming season, when I will try to win some more races.”
Jan Tratnik after winning Stage 16 at Giro d’Italia 2020
Not only was the victory historic for Jan and his greatest career achievement (so far), it was also historic for the organizers – Stage 16 was the 2000th Stage of ‘La Corsa Rosa‘!
You can explore all major results achieved by Jan on our Results page!