Felix Großschartner up to second overall at Tour of Slovenia

With a battling display on stage 4, UAE Team Emirates-XRG‘s Felix Großschartner moved up to second overall at the Tour of Slovenia. The 31-year-old Austrian finished in fourth place on the Queen stage of the race, a result of an attacking show of force that guided him to the Golte Ski Resort on the race’s only summit finish.

Großschartner headed into the tough fourth stage with his eyes on bolting up the general classification, and he ensured that he would make good on his promise. Ultimately, only an admirable ride from Anders Halland Johannessen (uno-X Mobility) could stop the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man from taking control of the lead of the race.

The Norwegian now sits at the top of the standings and holds a 16-second advantage over Großschartner with one stage to go on Sunday.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG began the penultimate stage with just five riders, making the efforts of those involved ever the more impressive. First up, Rui Oliveira left everything out on the road to pull his teammates along for the majority of the day, before Rune Herregodts, António Morgado and Ivo Oliveira all chipped in for all they had. Herregodts became the victim of a crash midway through the day, but bounced back without hesitation to support his teammates.

On the final climb to Golte, Lidl-Trek forced the pace, and Großschartner did well to stand up to the test. As the American team faded, the Austrian grew in force. Within the final couple of kilometres, the 31-year-old made his own attack and put his opponents on the back foot. His move would stick to the line at the summit, as he went in search of stage race glory.

To his credit, Halland Johannessen nipped off the front and forced Großschartner into response. The gap between the pair once stood at 10 seconds, but little by little, Großschartner mustered his legs to reduce the deficit. By the line, the gap between the pair shrank to three seconds, enough to hand the Norwegian the green leader’s jersey ahead of Sunday.

With the gap at 16 seconds, Großschartner cannot be counted out from producing an upset on stage 5, and the Emirati squad will certainly give their all to end the race on the front foot. Speaking to the media after the stage, the Austrian reflected on a positive afternoon in the saddle.

Großschartner: “It was a little bit attack, attack, attack. In the end, it’s ok, I am here to win but it is what it is. Tomorrow we will see, it is another day.”

“It is not easy tomorrow. For sure, I will try to win and we will see in the end if it is possible.”

Tour of Slovenia 2025 stage 4 results

1. Kyrylo Tsarenko (Team Solution Tech-Vini Fantini) 4:37:46

2. Samuele Zoccarato (Team Polti VisitMalta) +28″

3. Anders Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) +38″

4. Felix Großschartner (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +41″

General classification after Tour of Slovenia stage 4

1. Anders Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) 16:09:51

2. Felix Großschartner (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +16″

3. Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek) +19″