Ulissi kept the green jersey with the help of Slovenian teammate #video

15:02, 5 km to go: It’s not clear that there are only for contenders for stage victory: Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus/Gazprom-Rusvelo), Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), Giovanni Visconti (Ita/Neri Sottoli–Selle Italia–KTM) & Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates).

14:57, 11 km to go: Fastest cyclists are now half a minute ahead of the three chasers.

14:47, 17 km to go: Leaders will try to keep the gap of 45 seconds on the descent. Chasers are Esteban Chaves (Col/Michelton-Scott), Andrea Vendrame (Ita/Androni Giocattoli–Sidermec) & Faustom Masnado (Ita/Androni Giocattoli–Sidermec).

14:43: Leaders are already across Predmeja, nothing dramatic happened on the climb. Ulissi easily defended all attacks – to be honest there were not a lot of them.

14:31, 26 km to go: Leaders are riding at their own pace up in the front. It doesn’t look like anybody can take the green jersey from Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates). Slovenian Tadej Pogačar is helping him a lot.

Foto: Vid Ponikvar

14:27, 29 km to go: Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus/Gazprom-Rusvelo), Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), Giovanni Visconti (Ita/Neri Sottoli–Selle Italia–KTM) & green jersey Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) are just seconds ahead of Esteban Chaves (Col/Michelton-Scott), Andrea Vendrame(Ita/Androni Giocattoli–Sidermec) & Faustom Masnado (Ita/Androni Giocattoli–Sidermec).

14:18, 31 km to go: Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus/Gazprom-Rusvelo) made a strong attack, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) is the only one that can keep up with him.

14:21, 30 km to go: Four riders are now in the front: Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus/Gazprom-Rusvelo), Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), Giovanni Visconti (Ita/Neri Sottoli–Selle Italia–KTM) & green jersey Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates).

14:13, 34 km to go: Team Gazprom – RusVelo is keeping the high pace for their leader Aleksandr Vlasov.

14:10, 37 km to go: The break is done. Battle for stage victory and overall standings can begin.

14:05, 40 km to go: Leaders are now only 45 seconds ahead of the peloton. The climb to Predmeja has begun.

14:00, 45 km to go: The gap is going down. Team Neri Sottoli–Selle Italia–KTM is not backing down. Leaders will be caught soon, they are only one minute ahead.

13:55, 48 km to go: Escapees Hill and Montaguti are now one minute and 50 minutes ahead of the peloton.

13:50: Pace in the peloton is now very high, dictated by team Neri Sottoli–Selle Italia–KTM that is counting for a good result from Giovanni Visconti. He’s 17 seconds behind Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) in the standings.

13:40: Leaders are already on their way back to Vipava Valley and towards the crucial part of the Slovenian tour. Duo is not 3:30 ahead of the main group.

13:30, 62 km to go: Benjamin Hill (Aus/Ljubljana Gusto Santic) & Matteo Montaguti (Ita/Androni Giocattoli–Sidermec) are staying in the lead. They are more than two minutes ahead of Fabien Schmidt (Ita/Delko–Marseille Provence) and Florian Kierner (Aut/ Felbermayr - Simplon Wels). Gap between the leaders and the main group is about 5 minutes. Leaders are already on the climb to Štanjel.

Foto: Vid Ponikvar

13:25: Average speed after two hours is 37,55 km/h.

13:20, 70 km to go: Cyclists are already in feed zone in Komen, they took refreshments and fresh water bottles. Climb to Štanjel will start soon.

13:15: Leaders are already 5 minutes ahead of the main group. 2:50 behind them are Schmidt and Kierner.

13:10: Only two cyclists are now left in the lead: Benjamin Hill (Ljubljana Gusto Santic) & Matteo Montaguti (Androni Giocattoli–Sidermec); they are now almost three minutes ahead of the main group.

13:00: Florian Kierner (Felbermayr - Simplon Wels) is not giving up. He’s one minute behind the leaders and one minute ahead of the main group.

Foto: Peter Podobnik / Sportida

12:50: Only three riders are left in the front. Florian Kierner (Felbermayr - Simplon Wels) had issue with his bike and was left behind.

12:35: Luka Mezgec (Michelton-Scott) won last intermediate sprint on the fourth stage and is now waiting for the main group. Four riders that are still in the break are now 2:20 ahead of the main group.

12:30, 50 km: Average speed after first hour is 39,03 km/h. Gap between the break and the main group is 2:10.

Fans are already gathering on Predmeja, the decisive climb of the 2019 Tour of Slovenia:

Foto: Alenka Teran Košir

12:20: Leaders are keeping the gap of two minutes in the rainy weather. They are now on their way back to Nova Gorica.

12:05, 45 km: Leading five cyclists were already 3:30 ahead of the main group, but the gap has now gone down to just 2:20. 

Intermediate finish - Dobrovo (35,7 km):
1. Luka Mezgec (Slo/Michelton-Scott)
2. Benjamin Hill (Aus/Ljubljana Gusto Santic)
3. Matteo Montaguti (Ita/Androni Giocattoli–Sidermec)

11:50, 30 km: Five riders in the front are now 2 minutes 35 seconds ahead of the peloton.

11:40: We have a breakaway, five riders are almost two minutes ahead of the main group.

11:35, 24 km: Luka Mezgec(Slo/Michelton-Scott) & Benjamin Hill (Aus/Ljubljana Gusto Santic) have managed to pull off, three more riders joined them soon: Matteo Montaguti (Ita/Androni Giocattoli–Sidermec), Fabien Schmidt (Fra/Delko–Marseille Provence) in Florian Kierner (Aut/Felbermayr - Simplon Wels)

11:25: Group is carefully riding together. Roads are very slippery in the rainy conditions and nobody wants to risk it.

11:20, 10 km: Five riders managed to pull off, but the gap was not big enough. Peloton is just too fast right now.

11:15, 8 km: No successful breakaway so far, cyclists are still together.

11:10: Cyclists have crossed 0 km mark in Solkan, the race has started for real. We’re already used to attacks, who will make it in the break today?

Decisive 4thstage has begun, weather conditions are not promising:

11:01: 119 cyclists are on the start of hardest stage of the Slovenian tour, 10 less than on Wednesday. Weather will not play in the favor of cyclists today, looks like we’ll have rain all day long.

11:00: We’re off. The decisive stage of 26thTour of Slovenia has begun. Green jersey is on the shoulders of Italian Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates).

Start - Nova Gorica

Start of the fourth stage will take place on Kidričeva Street in Nova Gorica, while the stage itself is very hard and interesting. Cyclist will visit Goriška Brda in the first part, then go to Kras and finished in Vipava Valley and Predmeja – the highest point of 2019 tour.

Only first category climb on this years race is nine kilometers long with average incline of eight degrees. Three climbs before that are not to be underestimate as well.

Italian is defending the leaders jersey

Italian Diego Ulissi is in the green jersey after three days of racing. He won third stage with finish in Idrija and took over the overall lead. Best Slovenian is Tadej Pogačar in sixth place, Jan Polanc is sevents, Luka Mezgec tenth and Grega Bole 11th.