The Slovenian rider arrived in the same time as Italian race winner Filippo Pozzato (Lampre-Merida), and a final selection of more than 50 riders to finish 9th on the day.

Simone Ponzi, who finished in the same group as Bozic, said the last 10km were chaotic and praised Pozzato for choosing the right tactic in the finale.

"The climbs were short enough that a lot of riders could stay together, and this made it very difficult to ride your own race,” Ponzi explained on the Astana website. “A few attacks got away over the top of the steepest climb, but the descent was on a very wide road and this gave the advantage back to the peloton. In the end Pozzato started his sprint from behind, out of the wind. That was the smart thing to do, and that was the only way to win today," Ponzi said.