As the Tour enters its second week, the main stories continue to involve the two Slovenian racers. But have you ever wondered why the two highest profile cyclists are from such a small country, nestled between Austria and Italy?
Slovenia, the home of Adria Mobil, is a cycling paradise. From adrenaline fuelled mountain bike trails, to perfect road cycling in the mountains, to e-biking and safe family-trails, Slovenia has it all. It’s the perfect natural backdrop, with a benign climate, combined with the Slovene’s inherent love of sport and nature, it’s also the perfect catalyst for the emergence of cycling champions.
Cue, the Tour de France, the most prestigious road cycling race in the world, where Slovenia scored its first stage back in 2017, by Primož Roglič, Born in Trbovlje, Roglič is a former ski jumper who started to compete in 2003, he is an Adria Ambassador and regular visitor to the Adria Mobil factory.
In last year's Tour de France, Roglič came close to the overall win, but in a dramatic finale the title was won by another Slovenian: Tadej Pogačar. Roglič went on to retain his Spanish title and win the coveted Velo d’or, and command the world number one rider status.
2021 Tour de France. This year both these riders were once again classed as favourites for the yellow jersey but the race got off to a dramatic start, making the headlines for the wrong reasons, with a tumultuous crash caused by a spectator and her banner, with a mass pile up of riders and in the subsequent stages, more crashes, this time involving Roglič.
Then in a dramatic weekend, we saw Pogačar take the lead and the yellow jersey and an injured Roglič dramatically pull out of the race.
If cycling is also your passion, consider your own adventure in Slovenia, a paradise indeed, made for cycling.
https://www.slovenia.info/en/things-to-do/active-holidays/biking