Race leaders after stage 1 (Velenje - Rogaška Slatina):
Overall: Laurence Pithie (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe)
Points Classification: Laurence Pithie (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe)
Mountain Classification: Tomáš Přidal (Team United Shipping)
Best Young Rider: Tomáš Přidal (Team United Shipping)
Best Slovenian in Rogaška Slatina was Tilen Finkšt (Solution Tech Nippo Rali) in 8th! Congrats!
[Unofficial results] Laurence Pithie (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) is the winner of the first stage of 2026 Tour of Slovenia!
(13km to go) Smaller group is in the front, the rest of the pack can't catch the leaders any more. Minutes away from the finish of the stage.
(25km to go) The break is over, the main peleton has split in several groups with Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe leading the pack. Riders have crossed Rogaška Slatina for the first time, two more finish laps to go!
(28km to go) Half of the breakaway group was caught. Diego Uriarte Belzunegi (Equipo Kern Pharma) and Axel Van Der Tuuk (Euskaltel-Euskadi) are still fighting in the front, but the gap is shrinking with every minute.
35.2 km to go. Leaders are 1'20" ahead of the main group. In a little bit more than 10 km the peloton will come to Rogaška Slatina for the first time, then they will do two more laps and race for the stage victory. View from Kristal Observation Tower in Rogaška Slatina will be amazing!
Taj Žagar (Factor Racing) and Alan Banaszek (Wibatech Lubelskie Perła Polski) have crashed on the descent and have abandoned the race. We're keeping our fingers crossed that they will be back on the bike soon!
Tomáš Přidal (Team United Shipping) has won the mountain finish Ješovec pri Šmarju (92.8km) and will wear Lidl jersey tomorrow!
Ješovec pri Šmarju (92.8km) is the only mountain finish of the day. It's category IV climb, only 1.7km long. This will just give a taste of what is ahead of us on the next stages, but it can shake up the situation in the race.
[Results] Intermediate sprint Šentjur
1. Diego Uriarte Belzunegi (Equipo Kern Pharma)
2. Axel Van Der Tuuk (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
3. Sam Brand (Team Novo Nordisk)
Axel is now leading the points classifications, but the biggest chunk of today's points is reserved for the stage winner.
Breakaway riders are 1'44" ahead of the main group.
Community Grobelno and village of Spodnji vrh pri Stopčah will for sure prepare a warm welcome for the peloton. The area will host premium intermediate finish (75th kilometer). Part of the settlement Grobelno is in the municipality of Šentjur, the other part in the municipality of Šmarje pri Jelšah. More about it.
Last intermediate sprint of the day will be in Šentjur (70.7km). Great place for tasting the excellent local wines or a family trip along educational trails. Šentjur offers natural wealth and thousands of years of cultural and historical heritage. Read more.
Neutral technical support is again done by Vittoria Tires. You will see these vehicles and their team on every kilometer of the race! Hopefully not too much work for them!
Sam Brand (Team Novo Nordisk) won the premium intermediate sprint in Štore.
(53k) Breakaway riders are now 2'26” ahead of the main group. Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe keeps the pace of the peloton.
Intermediate sprint in Štore will not bring any points to the points classification, the winner will get prize money. Štore boasts a rich ironworking tradition, exceptional cultural heritage and genuine cuisine. Read more.
[Results] Intermediate sprint Žalec
1. Tomáš Přidal (Team United Shipping)
2. Axel Van Der Tuuk (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
3. Sam Brand (Team Novo Nordisk)
We're now LIVE on Eurosport/TNT Sports and Television Slovenia!
Second intermediate sprint will be in Žalec at 46th kilometer. Žalec is located in the middle of the Lower Savinja Valley – the Valley of Green Gold. Green Gold of course refers to hop, the region is one of the biggest global producer of it, which every beer fan will appreciate. You can also visit Beer fountain and the Slovenian Hop and Brewery Museum in Žalec. Read more.
[Results] Intermediate sprint Braslovče
1. Axel Van Der Tuuk (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
2. Diego Uriarte Belzunegi (Equipo Kern Pharma)
3. Sam Brand (Team Novo Nordisk)
Breakaway riders are 3'28" ahead of the main group.
First intermediate sprint of the day will take place in Braslovče, at 27.6 kilometer. Read more about the town here.
(14.5km) Bastian Petrič (Pogi Team Gusto Ljubljana) is now just seconds ahead of the peloton, breakaway has extended its lead to 1 minute.
(10.5km) Riders Diego Uriarte Belzunegi (Equipo Kern Pharma), Axel Van Der Tuuk (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Sam Brand (Team Novo Nordisk), Tomáš Přidal (Team United Shipping) are 40 seconds ahead of the main group, Bastian Petrič (Pogi Team Gusto Ljubljana) is in between the two groups and is likely trying to catch leaders.
We got a first breakaway, 6 riders went ahead of the peloton right after the official start. The gap is very small.
Riders are on their bike, 32nd Tour of Slovenia has begun! First stage take us from Velenje to Rogaška Slatina, the total distance is 141.3 km. First 6.2 km are neutral.
There are 17 teams on the 2026 Tour of Slovenia, you will find a full list here:
https://tourofslovenia.si/en/teams
On the top of this page you will also find a start list with names of all 118 riders.
ℹ️ 1. ETAPA / STAGE 1: Velenje - Rogaška Slatina, 141,3 km (start 12.15)
📺 TV prenos v živo/ Live broadcast:
13:30 – Eurosport 1, www.eurosport.com
13:15 – Televizija Slovenija, 2. program, www.rtvslo.si
🚵 Trasa, profili, časovnica & zanimivosti / Route, profile, timeline & attractions:
SI https://tourofslovenia.si/sl/etapa/1
EN https://tourofslovenia.si/en/stage/1
Leteči cilji/ Intermediate sprints: Braslovče (27,6 km), Žalec (46,0 km), Šentjur (70,7 km)
*Premijski šprinti / Prime sprints: Štore (58,8 km), Spodnji Vrh (75,0 km)
Gorski cilj/K.O.M. primes: Ješovec pri Šmarju (Kat II, 92,8 km)
🏆 Pokal: Pokal so izdelali mojstri Steklarne Rogaška. Posebnost pokala je prefinjena kombinacija dveh barv kristalnega stekla. Spodnji del v sinje modrem kristalu simbolizira vodo, eno najprepoznavnejših značilnosti Rogaške Slatine. Zgornji del iz prozornega kristala s tradicionalnim karo brusom ustvarja čudovite svetlobne odseve in prelivanje barv, ki poudarjajo vrhunsko steklarsko mojstrstvo. Pokal dopolnjuje napis v zlatih črkah, ki bo zmagovalca spominjal na letošnjo etapo, poseben vtis pa ustvarja tudi njegova teža, saj ta unikatna kristalna stvaritev tehta skoraj pet kilogramov.
🏆 Trophy: The trophy was made by the masters of Steklarna Rogaška. The specialty of the trophy is the sophisticated combination of two colors of crystal glass. The lower part in azure blue crystal symbolizes water, one of the most recognizable features of Rogaška Slatina. The upper part made of transparent crystal with a traditional diamond cut creates beautiful light reflections and color iridescence that emphasize the superb glassmaking craftsmanship. The trophy is complemented by an inscription in gold letters, which will remind the winner of this year's stage, and its weight also creates a special impression, as this unique crystal creation weighs almost five kilograms.
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