Watch: Pro bunny hops fallen riders on slick corner in sprint finish

While most eyes are on the WorldTour Tour de Suisse the less prominent Tour de Slovénie is taking place in the Central European country that borders the Adriatic. A hectic sprint finish on Stage 2 on Friday saw two crashes in the final corners of the race. Luka Mezgec of Orica-Scott survived the carnage to take the victory after 170 km of racing but it was the bike handling skills of a certain Italian rider that really stood out.

https://twitter.com/CyclingHubTV/status/875701049377648641

An Androni Giocattoli rider found himself reacting quickly to fallen riders in the final bend of the race. While riders like Vincenzo Nibali and Peter Sagan have made names for themselves for their excellent bike handling skills navigating tricky situations and technical descents in wet conditions, it was Andrea Palini impressive evasive skills that impressed on this day.

The race was steaming towards the finish line in Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital city, when a pile of riders went down in a left-hand turn just before the line. The Italian was in a tricky position but demonstrated some impressive bike handling skills bunny hopping over crashed riders who had slid out in the corner.

The skills to bunny hop a fallen rider on slick roads in the rain around a white painted line may have been prompted by necessity but it’s an impressive display. As the Italian navigated the carnage, Mezgec benefited from his good positioning to take the win ahead of Roberto Ferrarri (UAE Team Emirates) and Mark Renshaw (Team Dimension Data).

Palini was able to hold on to a good sixth place finish despite needing to navigate the obstacles in his way.