Sunday 8 June, 2025
Ivo Oliveira claimed a superb victory on stage 5 of the Tour of Slovenia, sprinting to the win in Novo Mesto after an unpredictable stage played out in favour of the UAE Team Emirates-XRG outfit. The Portuguese rider surged ahead of a select group in the final meters to clinch victory from the Italian Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek) and Fernando Barcelo (Caja Rural Seguros RGA) who rounded out the podium, adding another win to his stage victory at the Giro di Abruzzo and closing the race on a high note for the Emirati squad.
The 124 km stage from Litija to Novo Mesto was animated by early breakaways, but UAE Team Emirates-XRG having suffered numerous misfortunes during the week with the withdrawals of Alessandro Covi and Sebastián Molano through injury, were eager to claim their 41st triumph of the season. Oliveira launched his sprint on the slightly uphill finishing straight and held off a late charge from his rivals to take the victory.
Given the disappointment for his twin brother Rui on stage 3, who was relegated in his head-to-head sprint with Fabio Christen (Q.36 Pro Cycling), Ivo was able to harness the energy of his brother to take a well-earned win for the Oliveira clan.
Ivo Oliveira: “It wasn’t easy at all. The whole stage was pure chaos, super hard from the beginning, with 30 or 40 guys in front. It became a really hard race and Uno-X controlled the breakaway really well.
“In the end, I stayed with Felix all the way. I didn’t survive the last steep climb but I came back in the descent.
“Once I came back, Felix was really helpful for me, chasing down Juanpe [Lopéz], who was really strong.
“I said ‘I will have to do a sprint like I did in Abruzzo.’ I like to sprint from far and this corner to the bridge was key. I entered really good. Tao was leading Bagioli, but I know if I go long, it is super hard to catch me. I kept looking behind because I didn’t know how close they were, and man, I am super happy.
“For me, this is amazing. Felix, with second on GC, showed just how good a rider he is. I am really appreciative of the work he did and all my teammates have done this week, so kudos to them all.”
The stage win capped a strong week for the team, with Felix Großschartner riding consistently in the hills to finish 2nd overall in the general classification.
Stage 5 results
- Ivo Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 2:56:16
- Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek) s.t
- Fernando Barcelo (Caja-Rural – Seguros RGA) s.t
Final General Classification
- Anders Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) 19:06:07
- Felix Grossschartner (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +14”
- Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek) +19”
