Halland Johannessen wins 2025 Tour of Slovenia

Norwegian Anders Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) is the winner of the 31st Tour of Slovenia. He took a decisive lead in the mountains stage and defended it confidently today. The stage winner was Ivo Emanuel Alves Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates XRG), while the best Slovenian once again was Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain Victorious), who finished fourth overall and won the best young rider classification.

The stage from Litija to Novo Mesto, just over 124 kilometers long, was explosive from start to finish. Because of small time gaps, many teams pushed to the front, and a breakaway group of five, later six riders, only formed in the second half of the race. The final escapee was caught in the last kilometer by a small group that formed after the now notorious punchy climb to Trška Gora. There, in front of many fans, Anders Halland Johannessen once again showed his strength and proved he was the strongest rider in the race this year. The stage ended in a sprint from the small group, won by Ivo Emanuel Alves Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates XRG), bringing satisfaction to his team and his brother, who had lost the second stage victory due to a judge’s decision.

Anders Halland Johannessen after the race: “If feels amazing to finish at the top today after the boys did an amazing job. I don't know how they found the power to be able to keep it together and deliver for the overall victory. It's really a team effort. The whole week was incredible, now I have my first professional victory. The team didn't have to believe I can do it, but they really went all in and this is another reason why this is a victory for the whole team. I felt really good all day. It was a really hard start, with people attacking all over the place, even the GC favorites. But I felt I can follow the fast guys if we keep it together. We did it, it's incredible feeling to take the first professional win.”

Jakob Omrzel also had a fantastic week, finishing just 16 seconds off the overall podium. Still, the white jersey and consistent stage finishes are an outstanding achievement, which Jakob acknowledged: “The feelings after winning the white jersey are very good. It’s something I expected, and I’m very proud of the achievement. Fourth place in the overall standings is that unfortunate spot—so close to the podium. But we’ll come back even stronger next year and fight for the green jersey, not just the white one.”

Ivo Emanuel Alves Oliveira won the sprint in Novo Mesto and reflected on the chaos of the stage, also mentioning his brother who lost out on a stage win earlier in the race: “The whole stage was a chaos. It was super hard from the beginning, immediately there were 30 or 40 of us in the front. I became really hard right away. Uno-X controlled the breakaway, I stayed with the favourites all the way. I didn't survive the last steep climb, but I came back on the descent. Once I came back Felix started to pull for me. I like to sprint from the far, the key was the last corner before the bridge. I entered really good, and I knew it will be really hard to catch me if I go really long. I was looking back because I didn't know how far they were. I'm super happy, my brother took one victory, I took second. For me this is amazing. We also had Felix second in the GC, he showed how good he is. As a teammate I really appreciate what he and the whole team did for me today.”

Winners of the 31st Tour of Slovenia:
Overall winner: Anders Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility)
Points classification: Fabio Christen (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team)
Mountains classification: Fabio Christen (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team)
Best young rider (U23): Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain Victorious)
Best team: VF Group Bardiani-CSF-Faizane'

The Tour of Slovenia once again delivered exciting racing and a few surprise winners. Slovenian fans can also celebrate the great performance of Jakob Omrzel. Each stage told its own story, including the final one, after which the overall winner Halland Johannessen shared his thoughts: “I've raced in Slovenia last year and was looking forward coming here. I really like Slovenia, it has beautiful nature and the race is organised really good. You never think about safety, which is a good thing in a bike race. It could not have been better for the first victory.”

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Photo: Sportida.com