"I will try my best": Slovenia's future star Jakob Omrzel readies to brawl for national title with Pogacar and Roglic
Cycling
Even in the absence of its shiniest cycling stars Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic, the home fans at the Tour of Slovenia had a man in the running for overall victory - or at least the podium - Jakob Omrzel.
The 20-year-old prospect of Bahrain - Victorious ultimately fell short against the more experienced GC duo of Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, but still managed to cling onto a podium result behind Florian Lipowitz and Giulio Pellizzari.
"I am satisfied. The goal was to be in the top 3 in the general standings and that was exactly what was achieved," said Omrzel after the final stage.
The entire race was moderated by Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe who have claimed four stages on top of the overall triumph. And the German team definitely did not go easy on their opponents and Omrzel in particular: "The last two days were really tough and it was a test of myself. Yesterday's stage made the difference. Looking back, everything is great," he explained.
A "good" sign
Entering the last stage in Novo Mesto, Omrzel's home town, the Slovenian's main task was to defend a 47-second advantage over fourth overall Alessandro Fancellu. And even though the Italian sprinted to a podium result, Omrzel was part of the same group - enough to secure his third place in general classification.
"It was a very steep climb, which may not be the most comfortable for me, but we survived. At the top he (Lipowitz, ed.) attacked. I was thinking (about following), but I had no strength. I was so at the limit that I was just thinking about how to get to the finish line," the Slovenian champion admitted.
"I think this is a good confirmation. There is potential and we need to keep working. Let's go step by step, to the top," Omrzel concluded the evaluation of his race.
National Championships against Pogacar and Roglic?
Last year, Omrzel claimed the Slovenian road title against a slightly weakened field as his Bahrain - Victorious teammates disrupted the chase of continental teams' riders behind. However former national champions Tadej Pogacar, Primoz Roglic, Matej Mohoric, Jan Tratnik and even Domen Novak were all absent in 2025.
Florian Lipowitz, Giulio Pellizzari and Jakob Omrzel on the final podium at the 2026 Tour of Slovenia
Regarding the startlist of Slovenian Championships this week, it's expected that the competition will be much more fierce as compared to last year.
For Omrzel, it poses a great challenge, to try and surpass his idols in a head to head battle. Even though it won't be easy: "Of course I want to keep it. I will try my best to keep it. We'll see. But it's certainly an honor to wear it."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- It doesnt take a genius to understand that Pogi is 1 level above and Pogi is younger that Jonas, so Jonas will not win under ordinary circumstances. Pogi has to crack hard for Jonas to win. It doesn't matter whether you defend Jonas or not , facts remain facts. Jonas himself says his numbers are better than 2022/2023, so Jonas is more or less optimized and we are just see the stochastic variation due to other factors. I think he will retire along with Pedersen in WC denmarkabstractengineer13-11-2026
- They only raced each other during the 2026 Tour, but here's a few metrics to look at. Stage 3 (Granollers to Les Angles): Pogačar won the stage, finishing 2 seconds ahead of Vingegaard (2nd). Del Toro finished 24 seconds behind Stage 6 (Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre / Col du Tourmalet): Pogačar won solo, Vingegaard finished 2nd (losing 2:38), and Del Toro finished 3rd (at +2:57, finishing 19 seconds behind Vingegaard). Here, Jonas Vingegaard outclimbed Isaac del Toro by 19 seconds on the mountain stageawp13-11-2026
- your clinging to the past. Jonas was dropped by del toro many times last year and jonas never managed a climbing numers del toro did in dauphine last year -entire year. Trend is also evident theres no discussion your living in the past, its beent he same with jonas for many years now and only developing, meanwhile del toro is rising and developing greatly. This is all obvious stuff and im not even a del toro fan. No point discussing numbers or this i suspect you dont watch much now but rather think its 2022 still cause this aint hard.miguel13-11-2026
- We can go through metrics if you like, Del Toro, who I do admire and support, is not on the same level as Jonas just yet. You will see that in early 2027 if they have any crossover races. I do hope they both race the Giro. You are correct though, Jonas is getting older and will not be able to hand on much longer. I see 2027 as a good year for him. Obviously behind Tadej though.awp13-11-2026
- What wins? Are you LA operating under a pseudonym?mij13-11-2026
- My point is this - Tadej, Remco, Seixas are all the outliers. Many riders don’t hit their peak until 28. It’s way too early to write him off. And the pogi slo guy that hates him - he’s also immature. Ayuso needs time.mij13-11-2026
- Then you need to use ur eyes or head if you have cause del toro already dropped jonas two times and beat him in tdf stages already this year.. Del toro climbed(dauphine) better numbers than jonas did all year too. So ur feelings and wishful thinking doesnt amtter del toro himself has already surpassed jonas infact just facts. Its also very evident for anyone objective that Jonas is declining alot, its just the truth and super obvious.miguel13-11-2026
- None of those victories stand, so there's that,wrsty13-11-2026
- No surprise there; it is British Sycling, yes, with an S
Rafionain-Glas12-11-2026 - I like Del Toro but he's not on the level of Jonas, by a large margin.awp12-11-2026
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