Tour selection bids made at Tour of Slovenia as Anders Johannessen seals GC
The Tour of Slovenia has become one of the unofficial Tour de France warm-up races in recent years, or at least an attention-seeker when the big names choose elsewhere as Tadej Pogačar has done since he last dominated in 2022.
This year, the race failed to draw the biggest names – besides Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla) who dominated the sprints – but because of this, the competition was far more interesting from start to finish, with some stretching their legs before the Tour de France, while for others, it may have been an audition for inclusion in their teams' Tour rosters.
For no one was this more true than overall winner Anders Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) who has never raced a Grand Tour, unlike his twin brother Tobias who's earned a spot on both Uno-X Mobility's wildcard lineups the past two years. Now Anders' first pro win may just stamp his ticket for France, finally.
The final stage was won by Ivo Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) after an aggressive challenge from Lidl-Trek's Juan Pedro López stayed away until just outside the final kilometre.
Stage 5 top 5
- Ivo Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 2:56:16
- Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek) "
- Fernando Barceló (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) "
- Fabio Christen (Q36.5) "
- Ludovico Crescioli (Polti-VisitMalta) "
Final GC top 5
- Anders Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) 19:06:07
- Felix Großschartner (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +0:14
- Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek) +0:19
- Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain Victorious) +0:35
- Fabio Christen (Q36.5) +0:50
