Jure Kocjan (Team Type 1-Sanofi) finished the Tour du Limousin in sixth place yesterday after finishing second on the final stage. Vancansoleil-DCM’s Bjorn Leukemans, who took the lead by out-foxing the peloton to win stage one, won the overall race.
After the race Kocjan talked about what was a very tough race. “This has not been an easy week. Up, down, up, down, every day, and the last stage was the same.
“We got lucky that Vacansoleil controlled the breakaway, and they did most of the work to defend their leader's jersey until the sprint. At the circuit in Limoges it was quite hard, and I was following Ladagnous, who was fast all week, and came in for second. I'm not quite 100 percent, but am aiming for complete fitness at Paris-Bruxelles and GP Fourmies in September,” Kocjan concluded.
It was a case again of so close yet so far for the Slovenian, who had to endure his thirteenth top five placing this season with a victory still eluding him. Impressive results this year includes fourth place in Strade Bianche, a second place in the Tour of Denmark and fifth place in the Philadelphia International Championship.
Despite not winning this week, Director Sportif Massimo Podenzana was very happy with the 26 year old’s performance and remained optimistic.
"Jure has done very well in the Tour du Limousin, and we had strong performances every day from Laszlo Bodrogi and Alessandro Bazzana as well. August is busy for us, and we aren't finished yet. We are still looking for a big victory, and at each race we are putting the pieces together one by one," Podenzana said.
Kocjan moved to the American Team Type 1-Sanofi this year from CarmioOro – NGC. He’s no stranger to winning races, having done so before for his former employer in races such as Tour of Qinghai Lake and Etoile de Bessèges, beating a field that included Thomas Voeckler and Johnny Hoogerland.
Team Type 1-Sanofi still has a packed calendar for the rest of the season with a number of races to come that should suit Kocjan. He’ll be hoping to conclude the season by lifting his hands in celebration at least once this year.