The Tour of Slovenia is more than an international sporting event, it is the largest event of its kind in Slovenia and one of the central drives of the Slovenian cycling scene. The first edition of the Tour of Slovenia started in May 1993 and had eight stages, at the time it was organized in honor of the new country of Slovenia. Boris Premužič went down in history as the first overall winner of the race, and he’s still holding on to the yellow jersey that he won. " The motivation was maximum; we were all preparing for this race. That was the number-one goal of the season. This shirt means a lot to me personally, because every race is difficult to win, and even more so if this is the first race in our new country," said Premužič about his victory three decades ago.
The race has developed over three decades and experienced many highlights, but at the same time, there were also moments when the future of the event was seriously threatened. "Cycling itself has developed in all areas in 30 years, and keeping up with the times and staying at the same level from an organizational point of view is a big deal" explained Primož Čerin, one of the first Slovenian cyclists who proved himself abroad, but at the same time remained strongly associated with racing and cycling in Slovenia. From the organizational point of view, the race is successful mainly because of the team behind the scenes, where there is no lack of drive and motivation, but of course without the support of sponsors and destinations, without the quality and expertise that convinces competitors and teams to participate in the race, and last but not least, without tireless fans who create amazing atmosphere on every route, it wouldn't be possible - all these are the moments that make Tour of Slovenia unique and special from the first year onwards.
Today, the race represents a top sports & tourism project that brings the world's best cyclists to Slovenian roads and which, since 2017, has been watched by an audience of several million in a live broadcast on Eurosport and Slovenian Television. The beautiful scenery of green Slovenia, numerous natural and cultural attractions, and loyal fans are the factors that raise the live broadcast to a new level, and because of this more and more sports fans watch the Tour of Slovenia year after year.
This year, the Tour of Slovenia celebrates its 30th anniversary, and during this time the cyclists rode a total of 152 stages, and the next five will be experienced between June 14th and 18th, 2023. The start of the first stage will be on June 14th in Celje and the finish in Rogaška Slatina. The second stage will connect Žalec and Ormož, and the third Grosuplje and Postojna. Saturday's stage will start in Ljubljana and end in Kobarid, and the last stage starting in Vrhnika will bring the cyclists to Novo mesto, where the race traditionally finishes from the very beginning.
The 30th Tour of Slovenia will take place from 12th to 16th June 2024, with five great stages that will be added to the list of 157 stages from the first 30 years of the race.
