Borut Bozic (Astana) was second place behind Oscar Gatto (Vini Fantini) in Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday, and the Slovenian took another runner-up spot on Sunday in Gent Wevelgem, this time behind Peter Sagan (Cannondale).
The former Vuelta a España stage winner excels best in bunch sprints, and seems unlikely to challenge for a podium place in the upcoming Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix, but Bozic appears to be approaching top form at a good time.
Perhaps showing an affinity for bad weather, Bozic was also a solid 21st in Milan-Sanremo last weekend, and the Slovenian champion may soon find himself in the unlikely position of hoping the freezing weather continues.
As many riders often do, Bozic was forced to concede to Sagan, while saying he was pleased with his own result.
“Nobody could go with Sagan, because he was too strong,” Bozic admitted. “All year he is always the strongest in the race. But I knew I could sprint for the podium after Sagan, and when we turned into the wind for the finish I waited and waited and waited until the right moment. I am very happy with my sprint today. I have made some mistakes this season, but today I did everything right.”
Although he said that he suffered in the cold along with everyone else, the spirits of Bozic were no doubt buoyed by his second bottle of podium bubbly this week.
“People kept asking me questions after the race, but I couldn't answer them because my face was frozen like Frankenstein,” Bozic conceded. “But after five years of doing this race, and finally getting to the podium, I finally can say that I really like Gent Wevelgem.”
Astana rider Assan Bazayev was another feature man in turquoise and yellow, surviving a fast early start and eventually getting into the day’s feature breakaway with Juan Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil-DCM) and Matthieu Ladagnous (FDJ).
“After the first hour everybody from Astana was at the back. So when it came back together I went up to attack to show that we are here,” Bazayev stated.