Tour of Slovakia: Jamie Meehan 3rd on the queen stage

The final stage of the Tour of Slovakia promised a major battle, with nearly 3,000 metres of elevation gain and, above all, the final climb to Kráľova hoľa. The racing was lively from the opening kilometres, with numerous attacks. Jenthe Biermans and Luis Alberto Lajarin were among a group of around 30 riders who went clear, before the race came back together with around 60 kilometres remaining.

Approaching the final climb, the Cofidis team took responsibility to put Jamie Meehan in the best possible position. The riders set a strong pace in the opening kilometres of the climb. Jamie then found himself among the six riders at the front before staying with the best riders in the closing kilometres. After a strong climb, he secured 3rd place at the summit of Kráľova hoľa and finished 4th overall at the Tour of Slovakia.

Evaldas Šiškevičius, Sports Director

“It was a pretty tough stage with nearly 3,000 metres of elevation gain. There were a lot of attacks right from the start and around 30 riders went clear, with Jenthe Biermans and Luis Alberto Lajarin in the group. It was a very good situation for us. With around 60 kilometres to go, everything came back together, but a lot of riders had already used a lot of energy.

The team then handled the race very well again. I’m proud of the way the riders performed throughout this Tour of Slovakia. They did a great job putting pressure on the yellow jersey and placing Jamie in the best possible position ahead of the final climb. From there, it came down to a battle between the favourites. Jamie was right there, even though two riders were stronger than him today. We can be satisfied with this 3rd place on the queen stage.”

Jamie Meehan : 

“Today, I finished 3rd on the stage and 4th overall, so it was quite a good day. My legs were really good on the climb and I felt quite comfortable right up until the end.

I think I played my cards quite well, but I just missed that little bit of punch in the final kilometre. I’m obviously a little disappointed to finish 4th overall rather than 3rd. Normally, this kind of finish suits me quite well. I was really confident and hoping to fight for the stage win.

The team did a perfect job. We came into the climb at the front and the team set a hard pace from the bottom. They couldn’t have done a better job. It was really motivating to see all the work they did for me.

Now it’s time for the World Championships next week. There won’t be much time to recover and it will be a big day. We’ll have Ben Healy with us, so there will be plenty of work to do.”

Benjamin Thomas : 

“

We finish this Tour of Slovakia with three podium finishes. It’s a shame that Jamie missed out on the overall podium by just one second. We tried to race the way we needed to and came close to victory several times, so overall it’s still quite positive.

We had a group that wasn’t necessarily used to racing together and a team capable of performing on different terrains. In the end, we were just missing that little something to take a stage win. For Jamie, it’s promising and in line with the rest of his season. He has already shown some very good things in one-week stage races and on mountain finishes.

The team was strong on the different terrains. On the flat, we supported Jenthe Biermans right to the end for the sprints. Today, we raced the right way, with riders up the road, and then took control at the beginning of the final climb. We tried to make the race hard to put Jamie in the best possible position and allow him to ride the climb the way he knows how.”