Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl enjoys an excellent start at the 66th edition.
Ethan Vernon notched up his second victory of the season at the Tour of Slovakia prologue, a fast and flat 7km test against the clock through the streets of beautiful Bratislava. The 22-year-old from Bedford was the only rider to average over 55 km/h, as he put in a flying ride that saw him stop the clock in 7:33 after an all-out effort, enough to make him the first Brit in 57 years to take a victory at the race.
Vernon, who in March scored his first win in the pro ranks at the Volta a Catalunya, was joined on the podium by Josef Cerny and Michael Mørkøv, our team dominating the top 10, where we placed also Zdenek Stybar and Martin Svrcek, who got the jersey for the best Slovak rider of the race. As a matter of fact, all the distinctive jerseys ended up being owned by our riders: in addition to yellow, Ethan got in possession of the white one, Josef earned green, while Zdenek received the polka-dot jersey.
“I’m really happy. It’s great to taste victory again and be on the podium together with two teammates, that makes it a perfect start to the race for us. I knew I was in good form coming into the race because I trained well, I liked the course with those long straight lines, and I was helped also by my track background, because it’s not easy to do a time trial on a road bike, but I could produce a solid effort. It’s the first leader’s jersey I wear in my career and we’ll do our best to defend it on the next stage”, said Ethan after racking up Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s 43rd victory of the year.
Photo credit: ©Jan Melicher
