“We can really be proud of the work we did” - Florian Lipowitz turns almost two-year wait into Tour de France warning with two wins and Tour of Slovenia crown
Cycling
Florian Lipowitz arrived at the Tour of Slovenia still waiting for his first victory since July 2024. He leaves with two wins in two days, the overall title, and a timely statement before the Tour de France.
The Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe rider completed his Slovenian turnaround on the final stage to Novo mesto, attacking on Trska Gora before soloing to victory in the leader’s jersey.
Less than 24 hours earlier, he had won the queen stage on Vrsic, crossing the line hand in hand with Giulio Pellizzari in Kranjska Gora.
For a rider who finished on the 2025 Tour de France podium behind Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, Slovenia has given Lipowitz a sharp final race block before July. After almost two years without a win, he now heads towards the Tour with a stage-race title, two stage victories and a Red Bull team that controlled the race in more than one way.
Lipowitz turns final-day defence into another win
Lipowitz began the final stage in control of the general classification after Red Bull’s one-two on the queen stage, but the 169.4km route from Litija to Novo mesto still carried enough danger to stop it becoming a procession.
Fausto Masnada gave Red Bull the main problem from the break. The Italian collected mountain points, intermediate sprint points and bonus seconds, briefly moving into the virtual race lead before the peloton brought the gap back under control. He then kept fighting for the mountains classification, forcing Lipowitz to respond personally in the closing phase.
Once the race came back together, Lipowitz did not settle for defending. On Trska Gora, the final climb of the race, the German attacked, took the last mountain points on offer and moved clear. Jakob Omrzel did not follow, while Masnada could not match the race leader’s pace.
Lipowitz rode alone towards Novo mesto, increasing his advantage in the final kilometres before sealing both the stage win and overall victory.
Florian Lipowitz stands on the podium in the leader's jersey at the 2026 Tour of Slovenia
Red Bull back up control with results
Lipowitz put the focus on the collective work after the finish, with Red Bull having shaped the race from Laurence Pithie’s early sprint wins through to Pellizzari’s support on the queen stage and Jan Tratnik’s chase work on the final day.
“It was super hot. Once again, we raced really well as a team. The guys did an excellent job,” Lipowitz said in his first reaction at the finish. “We went super hard on the final climb. The original plan was for me to go for Laurence, but suddenly I found myself with a gap, and then I held it all the way to the finish. We can really be proud of the work we did.”
Before this week, Lipowitz’s previous career victories had come at the 2023 Czech Tour, where he won stage 2 and the overall, and the 2024 Sibiu Tour, where he took the general classification. Slovenia has now added two more wins and another overall title in the space of a weekend.
Lipowitz now leaves Slovenia with the leader’s jersey, two stage victories and a Tour de France build-up that has moved sharply from patience to momentum.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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