WorldTour
Florian Lipowitz wins the Tour of Slovenia
Florian Lipowitz sealed overall victory at the Tour of Slovenia with an impressive solo win on the final stage.
Following his triumph on the queen stage, the 25-year-old also claimed victory in the finale in Novo Mesto, delivering Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe its fourth stage win of the five-day race.
This was an impressive week for the whole team.
The battle for both the stage and overall classification was decided in the final ten kilometres. On the last climb of the day, leading to the final mountain classification point, Lipowitz launched the decisive attack. After taking maximum points at the summit, he set off alone towards the finish and steadily increased his advantage in a powerful solo effort.
Florian Lipowitz attacks
© Mario Stiehl
Behind him, Giulio Pellizzari initially controlled the chase group and protected the interests of Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe. In the closing kilometres, Laurence Pithie and Mattia Cattaneo also bridged across to the group.
While Lipowitz rode towards overall victory to the delight of the Slovenian fans lining the roads, Pithie comfortably won the sprint from the chasing group, completing a dominant team performance.
“This was an impressive week for the whole team. To take another stage win and secure the overall victory today is really special and shows just how strong we were throughout the race. I’m really happy to finish off all the hard work the team put in over the last few days,” said Florian Lipowitz after the stage and overall victory.
This was a really important stepping stone towards the Tour.
Sports Director Oli Cookson added: "This was a really important stepping stone towards the Tour. From the outside it may have looked straightforward, but it certainly wasn’t. There were some really strong performances throughout the team in there and everyone played a part every day. It was also valuable to race in hot conditions, which will help prepare us for what’s ahead in July."
Podium reward for great teamwork
© Tour of Slovenia / SPORTIDA
Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe leaves Slovenia with an impressive haul of results. Florian Lipowitz and Giulio Pellizzari secured first and second place overall, while the team also collected four stage victories and won three classification jerseys. Laurence Pithie claimed the points classification, Florian Lipowitz secured the mountains classification, and Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe also topped the team classification.
