Cavendish, Majka & Polanc on the start of 2017 Tour of Slovenia

Everything is ready for the start of 24^th edition of Tour of Slovenia! All teams had already arrived in Ljubljana, on Thursday morning they will go to Koper for the start of the first stage. 154 cyclists from 19 teams and 4 continents will start this 655 kilometers long, 4-day race. Five of the participating teams are UCI WorldTour teams.

Rider that will attract most attention has to be Brit Mark Cavendish (Team Dimension Data), one of the best sprinters of the modern age, ex World Champion and winner of 30 stages of the Tour de France. Rafal Majka (Poland, team Bora – Hansgrohe) will be a strong contender for the overall victory, especially after the strong performance he showed on Tour of California. Slovenian favorite for the overall victory hast to be Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates) that created a lot of excitement with the epic victory on the recent Giro d’Italia. All three champions were also guests on the press conference that took place in City Museum on Ljubljana, on the eve of the start of the race. Race director Bogdan Fink and Head of Marketing at Slovenian Tourist Board Alenka Pahor Žvanut were of course also among the speakers.

Mark Cavendish has come to Slovenia after recovery from the serious viral infection that causes mononucleosis, an illness that took him a lot of power and completely changed his season plans. But he’s a fighter and is now giving everything towards second half of the season, with Tour the France of course on top of his priority list. Slovenian tour is perfect race to test if he’s finally and completely defeated the illness and if he’ll get enough strength for Tour de France on the difficult Slovenian stages and in strong competition. “Race is always the best test for every athlete, desire for victory drives you much harder than anything on the normal training, where you push as hard as possible, but there is not that atmosphere of the competition,” said Mark Cavendish and ads: “I’m feeling healthy, I hope I’ll race till Sunday. I wasn’t here for a very long time when I was on this race for the first time, but the country is very beautiful and I noticed that the people are very warm. Past months were not easy, it’s hard to go to bed every evening and thinking about how long it will take to get over it. With some people it takes months, with some ten years. You don’t know when you’ll get better and that is very hard to deal with. I don’t have any special goals for this race, I just want to see where I am and maybe finish it. I also can’t say much regarding Tour, I don’t know if I will go there.”

Rafal Majka is a new name on the race, but is not also true for his team Bora – Hansgrohe. Team was already in Slovenia in 2014, at the time under the name NetApp Endura and with star Tiago Machado in their lineup. Majka is under the pressure as one of the favorites for the race. He can expect the most from stage 3 that will take riders from Celje to Rogla, the finish of that stage will take riders up to 1.500 meters above see level and will be an important test of his legs. Rafal said: “We chose Tour of Slovenia because it’s very nice race, I was already here in 2011, in my first season with professional team. I came here from high altitude training camp in Sierra Nevada, and I know that the race is not so easy. I know the profile of the race, especially hard is third stage with the long climb on the end. I’ll of course concentrate on that stage.”

Jan Polanc is youngest among the three special guests on the press conference. He used to race for Slovenian team Radenska Rog before he transferred to Italian team Lampre Merida. Now he rides for UAE Team Emirates and at age of 25 he already has Giro d’Italia victory on the list of his palmers. Jan has his eyes set for green: “I think I had enough rest after Giro, but it’s hard to say how will I race this week. I will give everything I have. Team is happy with my performances and I hope I can continue to upgrade my form on the next races. Tour of Slovenia will be hard for sure, there is a lot of competition on this race. Majka has to be the first candidate for the victory. Race will be decided on the third stage with the climb to Rogla, a climb that I don’t know that well. I know it’s not the hardest, but also not the easiest. We went to take a look at it yesterday and I know what to expect. Everything depends of how the race will develop. Green is my favorite color and I hope to wear it.”

“2017 Tour of Slovenia will be full of surpluses, not just from the sports, but also from the economy and promotional sides. Cyclists will race for the green jersey for the first time in history, meanwhile Slovenia and the world is fighting for green environment and green planet. Slogan of the race Fight for Green couldn’t be more appropriate. Race will be broadcasted on most popular sports program Eurosport for the first time ever – Slovenia is green touristic destination in the full meaning of the word and this represents a perfect opportunity to show its self to more than 100 million viewers. As a race director I can say that the race is ready to start, as a fan of the sport I want to see the best on the podium and as a Slovenian I wish local riders will be among the best. I want to thank all partners and sponsors of this project, and all of the volunteers – together there are more than thousand of us in the whole organization. All volunteers deserve special praise, their effort, endurance, diligence and loyalty are incredible. Same goes to all officials on the race, foremost to Slovenian police that will take care of the safety and order on all stages of the race,” said Bogdan Fink, Race Director.

Alenka Pahor Žvanut, Head of Digital Content Marketing Department at Slovenian Tourist Board has stressed the significance of the important steps that Slovenian Tourist Board did towards global positioning of Slovenia and increased of the country as a perfect location for sports tourism, training camps for athletes, and organization of big sports events, among them is also Tour of Slovenia. “Special partnership was crucial for the organization and execution of this year's race with the new slogan: Fight for green. Beside the main organizer of the Tour, the Adria Mobil Cycling Team, their long-time sponsor, Adria Mobil, company, the Slovenian Tourist Board (STB) took the mainstream in the agreement with a total of 13 partners, including the public agency SPIRIT Slovenia, Turizem Ljubljana, the Institute for Cultural Events and Tourism Celeia Celje, Company Unior, the municipalities of Koper, Rogaska Slatina, Zreče, Novo mesto, Slovenske Konjice and Žalec, and there related tourism offices. Why is this partnership important? Sport and tourism are closely linked in Slovenia. The I feel Slovenia brand, encompasses green experiences and strong emotion and passion for active and healthy holidays. Slovenia is a perfect destination for a five star green, active and healthy experience, mainly due to the pristine nature, favorable climate, excellent location, good infrastructure and not negligible hospitality.

Slovenian Tourist Board organized several pre-activities of the 24^th Tour of Slovenia. One of the most successful is online Cycling Ambassador of Slovenia campaign. The campaign, which exceed our expectations in the number of applications, invited cycling enthusiasts with a digital footprint to come to Slovenia for an unforgettable cycling adventure as an announcement of the Tour,” explained Alenka Pahor Žvanut.

Slovenian Tourist Board also organized a special surprise for all attendees of the press conference – exclusive culinary experience that took guests across the specialties of all regions that Tour of Slovenia will visit in the next days. Top Slovenian chef Janez Bratovž and Jezeršek team prepared all amazing dishes.

We also have to add that very special and unique trophies await winners of all stages and overall standings of 24^th Tour of Slovenia; each symbolize the region where the stage will take place. All 154 riders will also fight for the unique green leader’s jersey, whoever takes the final standings will also get the most exclusive trophy of them all - replica of 5200 years old wooden wheel that was found in Ljubljana marshes and was now recreated in the modern 3D technique.

Statement for the media was also given by S Eva Štravs Podlogar, State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, and Maja Pak, Director of the Slovenian Tourist Board.

Eva Štravs Podlogar, State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology: “The Ministry of Economic Development and Technology is aware of the significance of recognizable and high-profile sporting events, such as the 24th Tour of Slovenia, for the promotion of Slovenia and the Slovenian tourist offer. Furthermore, we are aware of the multiplier effect of these events on the Slovenian economy. As a country with unique unspoiled nature, Slovenia is also an ideal destination for the preparations of top athletes and an attractive venue for mass sports and recreational events, since, in addition to beautiful nature, it offers infrastructure and knowledge. Due to its incredible location and dynamic landscape, it is a popular cycling destination. Cycling is among the most significant and most sustainable products of active holidays in Slovenia. At the Ministry, which is competent for the area of tourism, we find that cycling is an important link in the public interest in health and sport, and it offers great potential for the development of this type of tourism in our country.

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely congratulate the successful partnership in organizing this year’s race, Adria Mobil Cycling, the company Adria Mobil d.o.o., and the Slovenian Tourist Board, as they were able to find common ground with an additional 13 partners, mainly from the local environment of the Slovenian destinations through which the route of the race runs.

For the first time in history, the entire race will also be directly broadcast on the television channels of the most viewed European and global sports television network, Eurosport, which means that the Tour of Slovenia race will be watched by millions of cycling enthusiasts all over the world, who will also be able to learn about the beauty of Slovenia as a green, active, and healthy sports destination, attractive for the active getaways of its visitors, among other things. This slogan for this year’s race, Fight for Green, promotes sustainability, and its direct meaning refers to the cycling fight for the green shirt of the leading competitor, but indirectly it indicates the much wider concept of the sustainable commitment of Slovenia and Slovenian tourism to preserve Slovenia as the first green destination in the world.”

Maja Pak, Director of the Slovenian Tourist Board: “I am very glad that, for the first time ever, Slovenia is introducing itself to the global public on the Eurosport television network through the broadcast of the Tour of Slovenia cycling race. We managed to achieve this by means of the successful partnership cooperation between the Slovenian Tourist Board and the company Adria Mobil, the SPIRIT Slovenia public agency, 11 tourist destinations, and other key partners. Therefore, through a four-day direct broadcast of the race, our country will introduce itself to millions of cycling lovers around the world as an excellent destination for active holidays, preparations for athletes, and organizing high-level international sporting events. Slovenia will primarily impress lovers of active getaways with its unspoiled nature, so no less than one third of the duration of the broadcast will focus on presenting the beauty of our country. In addition to the broadcast of the race on Eurosport, with a total duration of more than six hours, we also managed to arrange for our country to be additionally highlighted by means of 280 clips, of which 159 show the beautiful tourist landmarks of our country, and banners that invite visitors to explore Slovenia as a green, active, and healthy destination with more than 1.7 million displays. The response to the Cycling Ambassador of Slovenia project was also very successful – it was used to enhance the attention of the global sports public to Slovenia as an attractive destination for cycling lovers by allowing six foreign ambassadors to experience adventures in Slovenia prior to the race.”

Photo by Vid Ponikvar/Sportida

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