Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) defended his title in the Slovenian championship time trial, taking revenge on Primoz Roglic who finished second behind Jumbo Visma in last week's road race.

Roglic was the favorite to win the 15.7 km time trial, but Pogacar proved strong on the 7.9 km climb and fast ride to the finish, clocking a time of 31:10. 2nd place went to Roglic in 31:19 and 3rd to Jan Polanci in 32:57 ( UAE Team Emirates) was.

"I am really happy to win after finishing second last week. It was a course I know well and I have been training a lot during the week," Pogacar said.

"Jan is also getting better. He worked hard for me in the road race last week and to win a bronze medal is great for the team."

Jani Brajkovic (Adria Mobil) continued his comeback at the professional level, placing fourth with a time of 33:03.

A testing and contrasting course meant that technical choices had a significant impact on the results. Pogacar and Polancu switched bikes after the climb, while Roglic used one bike.

Last year, Pogacar beat Matej Mohoric (Bahrain McLaren) by 29 seconds on the traditional course around Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. This year's race was held between Zgornje Gorje and Pokljuka in northeastern Slovenia, near the Austrian border.

Italy's Alessandro De Marchi (CCC Team) placed ninth in 34:21.

More to follow.