The 176.8 km stage from Radlje ob Dravi to Ormož looked flat on paper but packed close to 2,000 metres of climbing, with the final quarter serving up a series of short, sharp hills. A five-rider break — Slovenians Gal Oblak, Marcel Škok and Mihael Štajnar with Hungary's Zsombor Palumby and Poland's Kacper Majewski — built almost three minutes before the hills brought them back with around 40 km to go, Red Bull again massing at the front with Giulio Pellizzari prominent.

The day was disrupted when a crash forced organisers to neutralise the race with roughly 29 km remaining, the stoppage required to keep enough ambulance cover with the race. Racing resumed with around 50 riders left in the front group, Red Bull leading into the uphill finish expecting Pithie to double up.

Instead, Dušan Rajović timed his sprint perfectly, coming past Pithie to take a strong victory — one of the season's best wins for the Solution Tech NIPPO Rali sprinter. Pithie settled for second, with Greece's Nikiforos Arvanitou third for Team United Shipping.

Laurence Pithie held onto the leader's jersey after finishing second on the stage, his bonus seconds and consistency keeping him ahead of the GC group. The overall picture remained unchanged at the top with the climbers — Lipowitz, Pellizzari and Omrzel — still poised in the bunch, waiting for the mountain stages to reshape the standings.