“This is my first win in two years” - Florian Lipowitz pays tribute to Giulio Pellizzari as German seals pre-Tour de France boost in Slovenia

Florian Lipowitz ended an almost two-year wait for victory at exactly the right moment, with the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe rider paying tribute to Giulio Pellizzari after their hand-in-hand finish at the Tour of Slovenia.

Two weeks before the Tour de France, the German claimed only the fourth win of his career on stage 4, attacking clear on Vrsic before Pellizzari rejoined him on the descent into Kranjska Gora. The pair crossed the line together to seal a dominant Red Bull one-two on the queen stage, with Jakob Omrzel taking third for Bahrain Victorious around a minute behind.

For Lipowitz, who finished on the 2025 Tour de France podium behind Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, the result landed at an important point in his final build-up to July.

Before this win in Slovenia, his only previous victories had come at the 2023 Czech Tour, where he won stage 2 and the overall, and at the 2024 Sibiu Tour, where he took the general classification.

“Congratulations to the team, who did an exceptional job, and that put a bit of extra pressure on me to repay them with a victory,” Lipowitz told TV Slovenija after the stage. “I am really happy with this one, it is my first win in more than two years, and I am proud of the way we raced here.”

Red Bull had controlled the race long before the final climb. Laurence Pithie started the day in the green jersey after winning two of the opening three stages, but the queen stage shifted the team’s focus towards its climbing options.

Pithie worked on the front before Vrsic, helping bring the break back within reach before Lipowitz and Pellizzari took over. The Red Bull pair bridged across to the remains of the escape, distanced the other GC contenders, and turned the hardest climb of the race into the decisive moment of the week.

Lipowitz briefly went clear alone before the summit, but Pellizzari came back on the technical descent. That allowed the team-mates to enter Kranjska Gora together and celebrate Red Bull’s one-two at the line.

“I felt good on the climbs, and I was happy that Giulio was with me on the descent,” Lipowitz added. “Overall, it was a very good job.”

The image of Lipowitz and Pellizzari crossing the line together gave Red Bull the clearest visual of the race so far. It came after a stage where the team had used Pithie, their green jersey, as part of the lead-in to a full GC takeover.

Lipowitz now carries the leader’s jersey into the final stage, with Red Bull already having delivered through Pithie, Pellizzari and the German himself across four days in Slovenia. “Tomorrow we have to defend the jersey. We have a strong team, but the stage finish is demanding, so I expect a hard day,” he said.

Red Bull will start the final day in control of the race, with Lipowitz backed by a team that has turned the Tour of Slovenia into a late pre-Tour de France show of strength.