Results Tour of Slovenia 2026 Stage 2 - Dusan Rajovic takes big win as crash causes race to be neutralised
Cycling
Dusan Rajovic took a strong victory on Thursday's second stage of the Tour of Slovenia. The Solution Tech NIPPO Rali rider bested race leader Laurence Pithie in a reduced bunch sprint on a stage marred by a crash that forced the race to be stopped for some time.
Stage two took riders from Radje ob Dravi to Ormoz in a test that proved more difficult than the profile suggests. Despite seemingly flat, riders still took on close to 2000 meters of climbing with the final quarter of the stage serving up plenty of short hills.
Laurence Pithie took victory on the opening stage as Red Bull - BORA Hansgrohe got their race off to a flying start. The German team have Florian Lipwoitz as their main general classification goal, but captured a brilliant reduced group sprint triumph.
It proved a straightforward day for break formation as five riders established the day's move early in the stage. Slovenians Gal Oblak, Marcel Skok and Mihael Stajnar were joined by Hungarian rider Zsombor Palumby and Polish rider Kacper Majewski as they pulled out a lead on the peloton.
Early breakaway establishes gap
The bunch seemed content with the move and it gained almost three minutes of an advantage. With around 75 kilometers to go, the leaders boasted a gap of around 2:30. In the breakaway, the only action came in the form of Oblak taking the day's two intermediate sprint points and ten in the classification - but ultimately still far behind Pithie.
The break were quickly reeled in during the subsequent hills, and caught 40 kilometers to go as Red Bull showed their strength, including recent Giro d'Italia hopeful Giulio Pellizzari prominent at the front.
Unfortunately, the race was neutralized with about 29 kilometers remaining after a crash. Organisers made the call due to the need for enough ambulances with the race. The race was resumed and Red bull led the peloton, which had around 50 riders remaining.
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Red Bull and Modern Adventure Factor Pro Racing were among the stronger teams at the front as the bunch prepared for a short uphill to the finish line. Ben Oliver, who took a big win at the Tour de Wallonie earlier this month, launched the sprint.
However, Rajovic proved the strongest to the line, besting Laurence Pithie in second and Nikiforus Arvanitou in third place. Pithie's result ensures he remains in the leader's jersey thanks to his team's hard work.
Results Tour of Slovenia 2026 Stage 2
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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