Cycling Results · Stage Analysis · Édition 2026
Stage 3: Maribor → Celje
Tour of Slovenia 2026
Laurence Pithie turned the first real climbing test of the race into another Red Bull win, surviving Celjska koča in the front group and then sprinting clear in Celje for his second stage victory in three days. Stefano Oldani was second, Iván Cobo third, and Pithie extended his overall lead heading into the queen stage.
Pithie survives the climbs to complete a sprint double
The 133.5 km route from Maribor to Celje was expected to be the day the race tilted towards the general classification riders, with Planina na Pohorju and Celjska koča both offering the climbers room to test the sprinter in green. An early break of Erik Fetter, Paul Wright and Marcel Gladek shaped the opening, Wright taking maximum points over Planina na Pohorju, but Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe controlled the gap.
On the decisive Celjska koča climb Jan Tratnik drove the Red Bull pace and thinned the bunch, yet Pithie held his position alongside the GC men. Samuel Fernández García led over the summit ahead of Lipowitz and Jon Agirre, but the climb failed to produce the expected split and a group of around 40 reformed on the descent into Celje.
The finale briefly came alive when Unai Iribar attacked on the descent, Pithie himself chasing it down, before Red Bull tried one last disruption inside the final kilometre with Mattia Cattaneo. Cattaneo was reeled in and Pithie still had the legs to finish the job, beating Stefano Oldani and Iván Cobo to take his second win and tighten his grip on the race before the queen stage.
Pithie extends his lead before the queen stage
Laurence Pithie strengthened his overall lead with the stage win and bonus seconds, having survived the day's climbs without losing time. Behind him the GC was still bunched, with teammates Florian Lipowitz and Giulio Pellizzari and Bahrain's Jakob Omrzel all comfortably placed and saving their efforts for stage 4's mountain showdown to Kranjska Gora — the stage everyone expected to decide the race.
Tour of Slovenia — every stage we've published
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S1Stage 1: Velenje → Rogaška Slatina
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S2Stage 2: Radlje ob Dravi → Ormož
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S3Stage 3: Maribor → CeljeYOU ARE HERE
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S4Stage 4: Kranj → Kranjska Gora
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S5Stage 5: Litija → Novo mesto
Where this stage analysis comes from
- 🇬🇧 Cycling Uptodate — Laurence Pithie survives Celjska koca test before sprinting to second win
- 🇬🇧 Domestique Cycling — Tour of Slovenia 2026 | Profile Stage 3
- 🇬🇧 ProCyclingStats — Tour of Slovenia 2026 Stage 3 result