Tour of Slovenia: A dominant display of teamwork sees Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe go 1-2 with Florian Lipowitz taking stage 4 victory and overall race lead

The event’s overall leader’s jersey will remain with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, moving off the shoulders of Laurence Pithie and onto those of Lipowitz ahead of the final day of racing on Sunday.

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Lipowitz now leads the GC standings by just four seconds ahead of Pellizzari, while Omrzel is in third place at 1:32 back.

The fourth and penultimate stage of the Tour of Slovenia was a decisive queen stage with 184.7km starting from Kranj that included three categorised ascents: Dražgoše (4.1km at 7.8%), followed by late-race climbs Predil (2.5km at 7.2%) and Vršič (12.7km at 7.8%) before a plunge to the finish line in Kranjska Gora.

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A six-rider early breakaway emerged that included Josh Burnett (Burgos Burpellet BH), Gorka Corres (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Jon Agirre (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Fausto Masnada (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort), Byron Munton and Stefan de Bod (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling) and Anže Ravbar (Factor Racing).

The six riders gained more than five minutes on the peloton, but that gap was slashed in half over the Predil climb with 60km remaining, overall race leader Pithie leading the chase for his teammates and contenders Lipowtiz and Pellizzari.

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Most of the breakaway reeled in, and the stage was set for the final climb of the day, Vršič. A selection of roughly 15 riders emerged on the lower slopes of the 12km ascent, chasing two remaining breakaway riders, Agirre and Masnada.

But the battle for the stage win and the overall classification ignited with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teammates Lipowitz and Pellizzari bridging across and then distancing themselves at about halfway up the climb.

Three chasing riders, Omrzel, Hugo de la Calle (Burgos Burpellet BH), and Samuel Fernández (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), were about 40 seconds back.

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Lipowitz set a relentless pace, and with four kilometres from the top, Pellizzari could no longer hold on, the German climber gaining 30 seconds over the top.

The cobbled section through each hairpin on the descent slowed the riders; using caution meant the teammate reconnected with 7km remaining, Omrzel chasing at 1:09 behind them.

On the flatter roads toward the finish line, Lipowitz and Pellizzari entered into somewhat of a two-up team time trial, working together all the way into the line for a 1-2 finish in Kranjska Gora.