"I will try my best": Slovenia's future star Jakob Omrzel readies to brawl for national title with Pogacar and Roglic

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.

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.

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.

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."