Luka Pibernik (Lampre-Merida) again showed that he has a great future ahead of him when he won the Slovenian road race championships. The youngster beat veterans Kristjan Fajt (Adria Mobil) and Borut Bozic (Astana) into the minor podium positions.

With his stage win in the Giro, Jan Polanc may have gained most of the attention from the Slovenian public but Lampre-Merida have another hugely talanted Slovenian in their roster. Today Luka Pibernik confirmed his huge potential when he won the Slovenian road race championships in his neo-pro season.

Pibernik was up against several strong riders, including a host of riders from the Adria Mobil team, and seasoned veterans like Borut Bozic, Grega Bole and Janez Brajkovic. However, he managed to beat all of them on the 178.3km course in Mirna Pec.

Pibernik was part of a breakaway that dominated most of the race and he emerged as the strongest from that group. Kristijan Fajt and Bozic completed the podium.

Pibernik is unlikely to be selected for the Tour de France and so it is unclear when he will wear the jersey for the first time.