Despite his past prowess in the Grand Tours, where he's won stages in the past, Jan Tratnik was one of the surprises of this spring. Finishing in the Top10 of Milano-Sanremo and Dwars door Vlaanderen, aswell as playing a very active role at the Tour des Flandres and Amstel Gold Race, was an evolution few would've expected at the start of the year.
In a long interview with RTV Slovenia, Tratnik has talked about several subjects regarding his season so far, and his plans for the coming months. The cobbled classics, which he was not planned to ride he reveals, came as an outcome of Sonny Colbrelli's absence: "I myself had suitcases ready for altitude training, but then we know what happened to Sonny Colbrelli. I jumped in and helped the team on the Belgian classics as I was still in good shape. In fact, I gave up altitude training also at my request, as I still had good legs in San Remo, so why not take advantage of them. Good decision to go to the spring classics. Now I will try to prepare without altitude training, but if I have already been successful in the classics without it, why not be on the Giro."
His plans for the early season were changed, however perhaps for the best as Tratnik was a crucial piece in Bahrain - Victorious' puzzle. After Brabantse Pijl, he's now taking rest before focusing on the Giro d'Italia: "I have a real rest until Easter Sunday, and then intensive preparations. Two weeks, ie 60 hours of training... I need to take a break from the classics so that there will be enough energy for training and the Giro itself."
After taking a stage win in 2020, and taking into consideration the form he's shown already this year, it would be no surprise to see the Slovenian take another win. However, he points out that the team have bigger ambitions, as Mikel Landa and Pello Bilbao - who are currently performing at a high level at the Tour of the Alps - will be targeting the overall classification.
Asked if he will go for stage wins, Tratnik says "there are certainly wishes, but there are wishes of 180 cyclists. The second is that we at Bahrain Victorious have a very strong trump card for the overall classification - it will be Mikel Landa. If he is to be high up there, it will be necessary to have as many cyclists as possible with him. My wish is definitely to be able to escape or to be in action, where the outcome will be. But there are really a lot of factors: not that I won't be able to, but that I will have to dedicate myself to the team."
And regarding his recent rumours that he will be joining Jumbo-Visma, Tratnik shruggs off claims made by Het Nieuwsblad recently: "Some media gave out this news. Apparently they know more than I do. Nothing yet [discussed], as I told myself this year to wait until the end of the Giro for possible offers."
Recent Paris-Roubaix winner Dylan van Baarle was also linked to Jumbo-Visma, however Tratnik stresses that these are just rumours, and explains how he will handle the contractual proccess: "Several times I signed the contract too quickly, but now I told myself to wait and see what will happen after the Giro. This year I am also racing for Bahrain Victorious, I would like to make the most of the form and the good conditions they allow me. After all, nowhere does it say that I could not continue with Bahrain," he concluded.
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