Prestigious trophy - a replica of the 5200-year-old wheel

Tour of Slovenia overall winner will be awarded with 3D printed & hand finished replica of the oldest know wheel in the world.

When renovating the visual identity of the Slovenian tour in 2017, the organizers - the Adria Mobil Cycling Club in cooperation with the City Museum of Ljubljana - decided to create a new, prestigious trophy for the winners of the overall classification of the five-day competition - a replica of the oldest, 5200 year old wooden wheel with axle found in the Ljubljana marshes.

The invention of the wheel is the foundation of human civilization. Thousands of years of inventions did not find anything that could replace it. The wheel encourages progress and creativity. The replica of this extremely precisely designed wheel is made in the most modern 3D technology, and for its production it takes almost 50 hours of very precise, comprehensive and professional work done by the company INTRI from Ljubljana. The restorer of the City Museum of Ljubljana, Katarina Toman Kracina, a painter who initially designed the trophy, reminded us that the model of the wheel is first printed from special dust particles on the basis of the plaster imprint of the original wheel that was made earlier in Germany. The printed model is exactly painted by the museum restorer and after final touch-up placed on a plexiglass stand. Engraved letters on the winner’s trophy are made with real gold leaf’s, and each cup has a certificate to confirm its authenticity. With the help of Slovenian tour, the story of this prestigious trophy is gaining momentum from year to year. In this year, at the 26th edition of the Slovenian Tour, another innovation was introduced - the names of all winners of the past 25 years of the Slovenian Tour will be engraved on the back of the trophy.

The winner’s trophy - a replica of the oldest wheel from Ljubljana marshes - will for the second year in the row also be presented to the best host of the Slovenian tour with a total of 31 municipalities hosting the tour this year. Let us remember that during the last year's jubilee race, the municipality of Kamnik won the best host award for preparing an exceptional atmosphere along the course in Kamnik and its surroundings.

Slovenian tour trophy: Photos taken in the restoration workshop – making of the prestigious Slovenian Tour trophy for the winners of the 26th edition of the race.