Sport
Only one week following a double Slovenian victory in the Tour de France, the cycling elite is moving to Imola, Italy for the UCI 2020 Road World Championship. Over the four days of competition, which begins on Thursday, September 24 with the Women Elite Time Trial and concludes on Sunday, with Men Elite Road Race, we'll see the world's best cyclists, including Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič, compete against each other once again.
The Slovenian team, consisting of five female and eight male cyclists, will have one racer from both groups in the Time Trials of the first two days, and thus Eugenia Bujak will compete on Thursday and Jan Tratnik will compete in the male Time Trial on Friday.
To many who wonder why Tadej Pogačar, who just won last week's Tour de France in a spectacular Time Trial race, isn't going to preform in the WC Time Trial as well, the Slovenian National Team's coach Andrej Hauptman explained for Siol.si that ahead of the Tour it has been agreed with Primož and Tadej they would not compete in World Championship's Time Trial since those who went through the gruelling competition in the Tour would have no chance of winning this as well.
In Saturday's Women Elite Road Race we'll be cheering Urška Pintar, Eugenia Bajuk, Urška Žigart, Urška Bravec in Špela Kern.
In Sunday's Men Elite Road Race Slovenian team will consist of Primož Roglič, Tadej Pogačar, Jan Polanc, Luka Mezgec, Jan Tratnik, Jani Brajkovič, Domen Novak and Luka Pibernik.
STA, 21 September 2020 - Slovenia is celebrating Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič for their first and second overall place at the Tour de France in what is a historic feat for the nation that had already been crazed by past successes. The cycling euphoria is now reaching a new peak.
Pogačar crossed the finish line of the world's most prestigious road cycling race in Paris on Sunday after having already secured the win a day earlier with a superb performance in the penultimate, mountain stage.
It was a surprise twist at the only time trial of the race, as the 21-year-old had been trailing his older compatriot Primož Roglič, who had been an undisputed favourite throughout the race, by almost a minute.
Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) came aggressively right out of the gate to overtake the yellow jersey from the visibly exhausted Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), beating him by almost two minutes in what expert say was one of the most sensational performances in cycling history.
He became the second youngest winner of the Tour de France, and is the first 21-year-old to win the greatest of the three-week Grand Tour races as a newcomer after France's Laurent Fignon in 1983.
He is also the first to wear the yellow jersey (general classification leader), the polka dot jersey (best in the mountainous classification) and the white jersey as the best young rider.
After clinching the win, Pogačar said that "I think I'm dreaming. I really don't know what to say," and after arriving in the French capital he told reporters that "this is incredible, standing here in Paris on the top step of the podium."
"I never thought I would be here. It's been an amazing three-week adventure. I have to thank everyone who's been involved in the preparation for the race, everyone in my team and my family."
Despite his talent, Pogačar's victory is in a way a surprise given that his first three-week race was only last year's Vuelta, where he placed third, and the fact that his older compatriot Roglič was a clear-cut favourite among the Slovenians.
Roglič (29) was visibly disappointed but said the failure to win the Tour - his ultimate goal that seemed so close - could prove motivation for future. The ski jumper-cum-rider won Spain's Vuelta and placed third at Giro d'Italia last year.
"I'm super proud. I'm proud of what I managed to do and us as a team which really put on super shows throughout the three weeks. I wouldn't change a single thing, there are no regrets, the best rider has won, so sincere congratulations to Tadej," he said.
Many Slovenian fans came to Paris to cheer their winning champions, including President Borut Pahor, while locals in Pogačar and Roglič's home towns celebrated with open-air parties.
Congratulations and praise for both are still pouring in, with many experts agreeing that Pogačar's performance in the penultimate stage was one of the ages, which transcends any past performance of an up-and coming rider.
Slovenia's double victory was preceded by an epic battle between the two Slovenians, and the likes of the cycling legends Sean Kelly and Eddy Merckx labelled the eventual winner as one of the greatest riders of the current millennium.
Slovenian Andrej Hauptman, one of the directors of UAE Team Emirates, said Pogačar was a great gem of Slovenian cycling, and added that neither him nor Roglič had boundaries they were not able to cross.
The surprise win has also been making headlines internationally, with The Guardian saying "it was a strange Tour but the winner looks like he is here to stay at the head of exciting young breed of cyclists."
La Gazzetta dello Sport said that Pogačar had a brave heart, as he conquered the wind as his greatest enemy, and the French L'Equipe said that the Slovenian wonder had won what was his first Tour De France.
Sports media appear unanimous in the assessment that Pogačar has already become the main favourite in all future three-week races he will participate in, and that he could remain on the cycling throne for more than a decade.
The cycling papers speculate that the 2020s may become the battleground between Pogačar, Colombia's Egan Bernal and another cycling wunderkind, Remco Evenepoel of Belgium.
STA, 20 September 2020 - Slovenia's rider Tadej Pogačar has crossed the finish line of the Tour de France in Paris to round up his superb performance at the world's most prestigious race, a historic feat for Slovenian sport. Coming in second was his older compatriot Primož Roglič, throughout the race an undisputed favourite, who lost to Pogačar at the eleventh hour.
21-year-old Pogačar (UAE-Team Emirates) was formally crowned the Tour de France winner on Sunday after putting on a dramatic turnaround in Saturday's penultimate stage, breaking several records.
He is the first 21-year-old to win the greatest of all three-week races as a Tour newcomer after France's Laurent Fignon in 1983. He is also the first to wear the yellow jersey (general classification leader), the polka dot one (best in the mountainous classification) and the white one as the best young rider.
"This is incredible, standing here in Paris on the top step of the podium," said Pogačar, draped in the Slovenian flag as his parents watched on.
"I never thought I would be here. It's been an amazing three-week adventure. I have to thank everyone who's been involved in the preparation for the race, everyone in my team and my family."
Despite his talent, Pogačar's victory is in a way a surprise given that his first three-week race was only last year's Vuelta, where he placed third.
Pogačar joined his first and only club before becoming a professional athlete - KD Rog Ljubljana when he was nine.
He first came to the attention of the Slovenian public at the Tour of Slovenia in 2017, which he finished fifth and got the white jersey as the best young rider.
In 2018, he won Tour de l' Avenir in what was a great success.
It was his outstanding results that made him soon be spotted by the UAE's professional team and he was signed on in July 2018, fully joining it on 1 January 2019.
The Tour de France victory will bring him and his team more than EUR 600,000.
Many Slovenian fans came to Paris to cheer their winning champions, while locals in Pogačar and Roglič's home towns are celebrating with open-air parties.
Congratulations for both are pouring in, although Roglič's fans in the town of Kisovec are slightly disappointed, yet they still consider him a winner.
Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) held the Tour's yellow jersey since the end of stage nine in Laruns, and had an around one-minute lead on Pogačar before yesterday's stage, but had to take it off for the Paris grand finale as Pogačar did 59 second better in Saturday's time trial.
However the failure to win the Tour - his ultimate goal that seemed so close - could prove motivation for future. After all, the ski jumper-cum-rider won Spain's Vuelta and placed third at Giro d'Italia last year.
"I super proud. I proud of what I managed to do and us as a team which really put on super shows throughout the three weeks," Roglič, who came to the podium with his son Lev, said.
"I wouldn't change a single thing, there are no regrets, the best one has won, so sincere congratulations to Tadej. And we go on," he told public broadcaster RTV Slovenija.
Below is a list of Slovenian riders' best results at three-week races:
1st place - Tadej Pogačar, Tour de France 2020
1st place - Primož Roglič, Vuelta a Espana 2019
2nd place - Primož Roglič, Tour de France 2020
3rd place - Primož Roglič, Giro d'Italia 2019
3rd place - Tadej Pogačar, Vuelta a Espana 2019
4th place - Primož Roglič, Tour de France 2019
9th place - Tadej Valjavec, Tour de France 2008
9th place - Tadej Valjavec, Giro d'Italia 2004
9th place - Janez Brajkovič, Tour de France 2012
11th place - Jan Polanc, Giro d'Italia 2017
13th place - Tadej Valjavec, Giro d'Italia 2008
14th place - Jan Polanc, Giro d'Italia 2019
14th place - Janez Brajkovič, Giro d'Italia 2009
15th place - Tadej Valjavec, Giro d'Italia 2005
16th place - Tadej Valjavec, Tour de France 2006
18th place - Tadej Valjavec, Vuelta a Espana 2002
19th place - Tadej Valjavec, Tour de France 2007
STA, 20 September 2020 - A new cycling champion is to be crowned as Slovenian Tadej Pogačar is set to win the Tour de France in Paris later today. While Primož Roglič led for much of the world's most prestigious race as a strong favourite, his younger compatriot put on a dramatic turn in Saturday's stage, and the pair secured a historic double victory.
Despite placing second overall, Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) remains a key name of this year's Tour, so the U-turn in the penultimate stage could not spoil Slovenia's celebrations.
Yet a new star is being born as Pogačar (UAE-Team Emirates) took the yellow jersey from Roglič after he had held it for a dozen days, making Slovenian and Tour de France history.
"Nailing first and second in the biggest bike race in the world is a huge step for one of the smallest cycle racing nations," is how The Guardian put it today.
The time trial brought the 21-year-old from the town of Komenda, some 20 km north of Ljubljana, a 59-second lead on Roglič, and somewhat unexpectedly, even for Pogačar himself, the overall victory.
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— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) September 20, 2020
Slovenian smiles#TDF2020 pic.twitter.com/jwfeKP832M
"Incredible. Nobody expected what happened on Saturday. Nobody imagined he could take a minute away from Roglič and add another one," Miha Koncilija, Pogačar's first-ever coach, told the STA today.
Twitter went crazy last evening and Pogačar is being praised around the globe, with some media labelling his performance a historic turnaround and the overall victory one of the biggest achievements in the Tour's 117-year history.
Although his talent had not passed unnoticed, only few had dared to think Pogačar would rise to the stars so quickly.
Being a 2020 Tour de France debutant, his dream had been not to win the race, but to race in it in the first place.
Almost a one minute-lead before yesterday's 36-kilometre time trial should have sufficed for Roglič to keep the yellow jersey.
However, the 30-year old rider, who claimed his first Grand Tour victory in 2019's Vuelta a Espana, had a bad day - his performance was not the best and his compatriot rival was doing brilliantly.
The surprising development took many in Slovenia by surprise and many experience a feeling of injustice, given that Roglič pedalled exceptionally for three weeks, but eventually experienced, despite the second place, a painful defeat.
"We all saw how hard it was for Primož. The entire team had worked hard for his success, they had everything under control, and then one bad day spoils it all. It's hard. Of course we're thrilled, but still the whole thing is a bit bittersweet," said Koncilija.
"Roglič was the best rider throughout the race, he had an excellent team. So I respect him, he is really a good friend and I too feel his defeat. But this is part of racing, we all try to win in the end," is how Pogačar summed up the dramatic turnaround in the last serious stage before today's largely exhibition one.
A day before he turns 22, Pogačar is set to become the second youngest Tour de France winner and the youngest this century.
Despite comparisons with some of the cycling greats such as Belgium's Eddy Merckx, he remains modest, hardly thinking about them.
Asked by journalists to tell them something about himself after yesterday's victory, he said: "I'm a young guy from Komenda. I have two sisters and a brother. I don't know what else to say - I enjoy life. Small things are important to me. This stage is definitely too big for me."
He described his felling about the victory similarly: "This morning I was happy to be in second place. Then I had a really good day and it transpired that I won. I'm very happy."
He thanked his UAE Emirates team for giving him the opportunity to race at the Tour and his parents for passing on their good genes which enable him to regenerate fast.
His Tour victory will go down in history as the biggest achievement in Slovenian cycling, while the double victory inspires even more pride among Slovenian fans.
Many have arrived in Paris for the finale, including almost 400 on two charter flights, as well as President Borut Pahor and Foreign Minister Anže Logar.
Commenting on the Tour even before Pogačar overtook Roglič, Slovenian Cycling Association vice-president Martin Hvastija said: "My view of the Tour? Things seem pretty ... surreal. I feel like I'm in a parallel world."
STA, 19 September 2020 - Slovenians Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič reigned supreme at Saturday's decisive stage of the 107th Tour de France with Pogačar becoming the big winner after a surprise twist at the only time trial of the race. After making up for Roglič's 57-second lead, the 21-year-old Pogačar became the second youngest winner of the Tour.
Bagging his third stage victory at the Tour, Pogačar took the yellow jersey, beating Roglič by almost two minutes.
Roglič, visibly exhausted, finished fifth after the 36.2km course from Lure to La Planche des belles filles, to take the second place overall.
"I think I'm dreaming. I really don't know what to say," Pogačar said in his first statement after the race. "I'm really proud of the team. They did a really great job," he added.
STA, 17 September 2020 - Primož Roglič and Tadej Pogačar, the first- and second-placed riders in this year's Tour de France, braved what was the final tough stage in the Alps on Thursday without major difficulties, reaffirming the likelihood of a historic double Slovenian victory in the general classification.
Finishing fourth in today's 168km stage from Meribel to La Roche-sur-Forontoday in a group arriving just under two minutes behind stage winner Michal Kwiatkowski of Poland, Roglič retained the yellow jersey and his 57 seconds lead on Pogačar.
Pogačar, the best young rider at the Tour, was fifth today. He lost his polka dot jersey of the best climber to Ecuadorian rider Richard Carapaz, who finished second today.
With a relatively easy stage scheduled for Friday and the final stage to Paris on Sunday, the winner of this year's Tour is likely to be determined in Saturday's 36-kilometre time trail with a summit finish at Planche des Belles Filles.
Roglič and Pogačar are both considered strong time trial riders, stronger than Colombia's Miguel Angel Lopez, who is placed third, one minute and 27 seconds behind Roglič.
STA, 13 September 2020 - Slovenian riders claimed a third double win at the Tour de France as Tadej Pogačar won the 15th stage of the race and Primož Roglič came in second, keeping the overall leader's yellow jersey. Colombian Egan Bernal, the defending champion, has been left in the dust by Roglič's Jumbo-Visma team.
During the summit finish atop the Grand Colombier, Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) was left far behind and out of the race for the overall win, losing seven minutes and 20 seconds.
Jumbo-Visma set a blistering pace, with Roglič at the helm, however Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) was the only one able to outmatch him at today's 174.5-km stage, which featured three steep climbs.
The 21-year-old, wearing the young rider leader's white jersey, now sits only 40 seconds behind Roglič and his yellow jersey.
"So far, Roglič has seemed unstoppable; today broke Bernal, perhaps on another day, it will be me or Roglič. We can't know that for sure," said Pogačar, who is now the youngest rider to have bagged two stage wins in the past 86 years of the race, according to RTV Slovenija data. He also vowed to keep up the pace.
Roglič meanwhile thanked his team and pointed out that the key stages were yet to come. "It would have been good if I had gained four seconds, but I was too short and Tadej was too good today. Nevertheless, I'm satisfied," said Roglič, who will don the yellow jersey for the seventh time on Tuesday.
Colombian Rigoberto Uran (EF Pro Cycling) ranks third in the overall standings, with a minute and 34 seconds between him and Roglič.
The 30-year-old became the first Slovenian ever to claim the leader's jersey of the most prestigious cycling race in the world a week ago.
This is also the first time ever that two Slovenian competitors top the overall rankings at the Tour.
Monday will be a rest day for the riders and a third series of coronavirus tests will be performed.
STA, 11 September 2020 - Slovenian riders Primož Roglič and Tadej Pogačar took the top two positions in the overall standings at the Tour de France on Friday after finishing the 13th stage of the race well ahead of the top contenders for the overall win.
Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), who has held the yellow jersey since stage nine, and Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), who was seventh heading into today's stage, finished six minutes behind the stage winner Daniel Martinez (EF Pro Cycling).
But more importantly, they left many top riders far behind, allowing Roglič to more than double his overall lead to 44 seconds and Pogačar to jump to second place in what was a tricky stage with a total elevation gain of 4400 metres.
This is the first time ever that two Slovenian competitors top the overall rankings at the Tour. The pair, sometimes referred to as Rog & Pog, already made Slovenian cycling history in previous stages, finishing two of them as the first and second-placed.
STA, 11 September 2020 - Ljubljana Marathon received the green light on Friday from the National Institute for Public Health (NIJZ) to host on 25 October what is known as the largest running event in the country. Although significantly downsized due to coronavirus, the marathon will be held, director Gojko Zalokar confirmed for the STA.
As customary, the tracks will be 10, 21 and 42 kilometres long, Zalokar said.
The organisers started accepting applications for the event in early March, only days before the epidemic was declared in the country. Ever since, talks have been under way on how and whether to carry out the marathon.
Because of coronavirus restrictions, this year only up to 500 participants will be able to take part, including 50 representatives of the organisers. So far, the annual event usually attracted almost 14,000 runners.
This year's marathon will be 25th, but the anniversary will be marked next year, Zalokar said.
Applications for this year's event will be accepted as of 1 October. Only the first 450 runners to apply will be able to take part.
The organisers invite all those who will not be able to apply to take part in the virtual marathon.
Those who had registered in the first round have the option of transferring the registration fee to 2021 or get a refund.
STA, 6 September - Slovenian riders made history at the Tour de France yet again as Tadej Pogačar won the 9th stage and Primož Roglič came in second to take the overall leader's yellow jersey.
Swiss rider Marc Hirschi (Sunweb) made an escape 50 kilometres into the 153-kilometre mountainous stage between Pau and Laruns, only to get caught up by Roglič (Jumbo Visma), Pogačar (UAE), Egan Bernal (Ineos) and Mikel Landa (Bahrain McLaren) 1.7 kilometre ahead of the finish line.
The devilish tempo was dictated by Roglič, a pre-race favourite for the overall victory, who secured the virtual yellow jersey on the climb to the Marie Blanque pass, while Hirschi was the first to break into sprint.
Although the Swiss was in the best position to win the stage, Pogačar blasted past him, followed by Roglič, who squeezed ahead by a whisker just before the finish line, so Hirschi had to settle for the third.
The finish in Laruns was where Roglič won his second Tour de France stage win two years ago for the 4th spot overall. This time he has become the first Slovenian ever to claim the leader's jersey of the most prestigious cycling race in the world.
"The yellow jersey is great. It's our goal and I hope to have it on in Paris. This was definitely a good stage for us," Roglič, 30, commented for RTV Slovenija, after taking the leader's jersey off Briton Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott).
Overall, Roglič is now 21 seconds ahead of Columbian Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) and 28 seconds ahead of France's Guillaume Martin (Cofidis). Pogačar advanced to 7th overall with a lag of 44 seconds behind his compatriot.
Roglič lauded his young rival. "I'd like congratulate Tadej first, today we changed places from the fourth stage. He is really strong," he said, referring to the first Slovenian double win at this year's Tour. This is their third such feat including the Tour of Spain last year.
"It'd be great if everything was so easy. What can I say, Slovenians have obviously become a cycling powerhouse, just like the Colombians," he said.
"I only wanted to gain as much time as possible overall, but I saw we didn't gain much compared to competition. That's why I tried to get the bonus seconds in the last few metres. I don't really know how I did it, I just sprinted as fast as I could," Pogačar commented on his feat.
STA, 1 September 2020 - Slovenia's cycling star Primož Roglič won the fourth stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday, while Tadej Pogačar in second place helped secure a historic double win for Slovenia.
Roglič, the Vuelta a Espana champion who is also among the prime candidates for final overall victory at the Tour, won the uphill sprint in Orcieres-Merlette in the Alps after 160.5 kilometres of racing that began in Sisteron.
While this is the third individual stage victory at the Tour for Roglič, who also clinched wins in 2017 and 2018, the 30-year-old did not yet secure the yellow jersey of the overall leader.
The Jumbo-Visma captain advanced to third place, three seconds behind Britain's Adam Yates and seven seconds behind French rider Julian Alaphilippe.
"It was quite a fast day actually, quite hard, but the guys did a very good job again, I was in a good position all along. At the end I was able to deliver a nice sprint, so I'm very happy," Roglič said after the race.
He added he did not really care that the yellow jersey was not his yet. What is important is that "we stayed safe and at the end even won".
As for his continuing recovery after a crash two weeks ago, he said "I'm coming back ... I feel a little better every day, it's nice to ride a bike again".
Meanwhile, Pogačar, a 21-year-old member of UAE Team Emirates, consolidated his fourth position overall and donned the white jersey of the best young rider.
According to public broadcaster RTV Slovenija, Pogačar became the youngest holder of the white jersey in the last 32 years.
