The Tour of Slovakia is, for now, Paul Magnier’s playground. The Frenchman claimed his fourth stage win in Slovakia on Saturday, but his team had to push to the limit to reel in early breakaway riders Rick Ottema, Tim Marsman, and Oscar Nilsson-Julien.
The fourth stage of the Tour of Slovakia was almost completely flat, taking the peloton from Vráble to Sládkovičovo over nearly 170 kilometers. A dull day seemed imminent, but Rick Ottema and Tim Marsman managed to bring some color to the race from the early breakaway. The two Dutchmen were joined by Matic Zumer, Martin Jurek, and Oscar Nilsson-Julien.
The maximum lead of the break reached close to three minutes, but in the peloton, Soudal Quick-Step was controlling the pace for sprinter and leader Magnier. Gradually, the gap kept shrinking, but with fifteen kilometers to go, the escapees had still not been caught.
photo: Cor Vos © 2025[/caption]
What’s more, the early break seemed ready to up the pace. After Jurek and Zumer were dropped, Nilsson-Julien, Marsman, and Ottema went all-out to shake the peloton. At one point, Soudal Quick-Step appeared ready to throw in the towel. Ultimately, the trio was caught just 400 meters from the finish line, leading to another sprint finish.
Magnier struck coldly in that sprint. There clearly is no one who can match the Frenchman in this race. And who took second once again? That was Lukas Kubis.
Okolo Slovenska / Tour de Slovaquie| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 03:30:16 | |
| 2 | " | |
| 3 | " | |
| 4 | " | |
| 5 | " | |
| 6 | " | |
| 7 | " | |
| 8 | " | |
| 9 | " | |
| 10 | " |
