Pithie navigates chaos for second Tour of Slovenia win

Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) masterfully navigated a chaotic finale to win a tight bunch sprint on stage 3 of the Tour of Slovenia 2026, securing his second victory of the race. He edged out Ivan Cobo (Equipo Kern Pharma) and Stefano Oldani (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) on the line in Celje.

The pan-flat run-in devolved into a scramble after a fierce battle between lead-out trains. A late attack from Pithie's teammate Mattia Cattaneo (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) inside the final kilometre blew the organised sprints apart.

A pan-flat run-in to Celje set the stage for a bunch sprint. In the final 5 km, the peloton was marshalled by Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe and Euskaltel-Euskadi, with both teams committing their full squads to control the pace. The two trains rode side-by-side, with powerful turns from Jan Tratnik and Florian Lipowitz (both Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) keeping other teams at bay.

As the race passed under the flamme rouge, the lead-outs began to fracture. After a final turn from Giulio Pellizzari, his teammate Mattia Cattaneo launched a surprise attack with 800 metres remaining. The move forced a frantic chase and completely disrupted the rhythm of the remaining sprint formations.

Cattaneo was caught with just 300 metres to go, leading to a disorganised sprint. From the chaos, Pithie found a clear gap on the right-hand side of the road, launching a powerful acceleration to take the victory by half a wheel.

• Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe played their cards perfectly. Their lead-out train controlled the pace, and Mattia Cattaneo's late attack served as a brilliant tactical disruption, creating the chaos from which Pithie ultimately thrived.
• Pithie demonstrated not just raw speed but excellent race craft. After his lead-out was dismantled by his own teammate's attack, he surfed wheels to find his own path, proving he can win from both structured and unstructured finales.
• Euskaltel-Euskadi committed fully to the sprint but came away empty-handed, with their best-placed rider, Xabier Berasategi, finishing fifth. They matched Red Bull's power for several kilometres but lacked a clear plan once the race became disorganised.
• The stage highlighted the difficulty for ProTeams to compete with a WorldTour squad's depth. While Equipo Kern Pharma and Caja Rural-Seguros RGA made the podium, they were largely reactive to Red Bull's control of the finale.