29th Tour of Slovenia starts with long list of favorites

138 cyclists from 27 countries, among them are some of the strongest cyclists in the world, are in Slovenia, waiting for the Tour of Slovenia to start tomorrow in Celje. The race that celebrates 30^th anniversary will be very interesting as there are no clear favorites for the stage and overall victories. Five beautiful days of racing are upon us!

The cyclists on the race will do more than 833 kilometers on the Slovenian roads, which will give them great opportunity to get familiar with the beauty and diversity of Slovenia. But of course their main goal is a good result on the race that will again offer five stages with something for every type of cyclist. The race will most likely decide on Saturday when the peloton climbs on Kolovrat twice (the mountain that was also featured in Giro), but all five stages are harder than they look on the paper and the final outcome is thus hard to predict. Four competing WorldTour teams have very strong lineups on the race, for many this is the last test before the Tour de France. Slovenian names that stand up are Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious), Domen Novak (UAE Team Emirates) & Luka Mezgec (Team Jayco AlUla), but we also must consider other very strong favorites like Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates, 2-times Tour of Slovenia winner), Dylan Groenewegen & Filippo Zana (Team Jayco AlUla) and Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious). The list doesn’t end here, strong Spanish and Italian teams are very motivated and will race with full force, Slovenian teams will also look for their opportunities. First stage will likely end with the sprint finish, but all scenarios are possible from there on; the stages are technically challenging and diverse, also perfect for breakaways.

In 30 years since the first edition, the Tour of Slovenia has grown into recognized international sports event and has developed together with the Slovenian cycling scene, allowing domestic talents to show themselves to the world. This is where Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič gain experiences and results, and this is where number of other riders came in contact with the professional global teams. Next generation is looking ahead and will for sure did their best in the next five days.

The race also introduces Slovenia to the world – over 46 million people saw the race thanks to Eurosport in the recent years. New millions will join them in 2023 and they will learn about a country with beautiful green nature and tons of options for active holidays.

The race is also gaining new dimension for all hobby cyclists that want to challenge the performance of the top pros. In cooperation with Telekom Slovenija we organize NEO Tour, a unique challenge for all fans of cycling. We’ll measure time on the climbing section of each of the sections and allow all to join in on STRAVA club NEO_TOUR and compare their times with the times set on the race. One very lucky winner of the competition will get a Colnago road bike with Tadej Pogačar’s signature, while other prizes are also for grab. Visit www.telekom.si/neo-tour for more info.

First kilometers of the 29^th edition will take place on the streets of Celje, also a host city of today’s press conference with amazing guests. Here’s what they had to say…

Diego Ulissi, UAE Team Emirates: “I’ve already won twice in Slovenia, but it’s true that quite some time has passed since the first victory back in 2011. It’s going to be hard to repeat something like that, but I do feel strong at my 34 years. We came to Tour of Slovenia with a very strong team, despite not having Tadej Pogačar here with us. We also have Domen Novak that will race on his home roads and has a very large desire to succeed.”

Luka Mezgec, Team Jayco AlUla: “I still have fond memories on the stage victory that I took here in Celje back in 2019, it was also super last year on the Old castle when Matej and myself were battling for the 4^th place. I can’t wait to start the race. Our team also has Dylan Groenewegen here, he’s super motivated and wish to take at least one stage victory. We all remember that he already won twice in Rogaška Slatina and of course also aims high tomorrow on the first stage.
Our main objective is to win as much stages as possible, with Zana we can also aim high in the overall standings. Filippo did really good on Giro, he won a stage and was always at the front when the race developed. He’s in good form and this also means no rest for us on the mountain stage. Of course I hope I will also get an opportunity on the home race.”

Matej Mohorič, Bahrain Victorious: “I’m getting ready for the Tour de France, I will use Tour of Slovenia for my last training race. The race is just right for me, not too easy, but also not too hard and that gives me just what I need for my mission in France. We’ll race with the strong team and Phil Bauhaus as our favorite for the sprints, I just hope Luka doesn’t spoil our plans.
I never won a stage on Tour of Slovenia, which I accept. I also didn’t have good fortune in the first part of the season, despite being in top form and feeling good on the races. Spring classics didn’t go the way I wanted, crashes and position inside the peloton stopped me from taking top spots. It’s of course frustrating if you train for months and you don’t reach your, but in my mind I’m focused toward the future.”

MSc. Maja Pak, the Director of the STB, emphasized the importance of broadcasting the race on Eurosport and the STB's promotional efforts: "The Slovenian Tourist Board is once again ensuring race visibility and promoting Slovenia as an exceptional destination for active experiences through the Eurosport broadcast. We will captivate millions of cycling enthusiasts with 230 video clips showcasing Slovenia and the stage locations, including Celje, the previous year's Best Host of the Race and this year's starting point. The race covers almost the whole of Slovenia, from Kobarid to Ormož, with numerous Slovenia Green Label winners hosting stages, including Celje. Join us in cheering along as we paint the route green this year, proudly waving over 20,000 I feel Slovenia flags. With this event, we will once again showcase a country that puts sustainability at the core of all its activities, even in sports."

Matija Kovač, Mayor of the Municipality of Celje: "We are happy that the Tour of Slovenia, which has become one of the most recognizable and attractive races in the run-up to the Tour de France, thanks to the exceptional performances of Slovenian champions Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič, is starting in Celje this year. The Municipality of Celje has been a proud partner of this sports and tourism spectacle for many years. We see the race as an excellent opportunity to promote our city, sports, a healthy lifestyle and all the activities we carry out in the field of sustainable mobility. This year, too, we prepared a rich accompanying program in Celje for the race - for example, we started the activities already in April. Yesterday and today, among other things, we hosted the National Cycling Conference in Celje, where good practices and experiences about cycling as a mode of mobility, which has a positive impact on the environment and health, were presented. Today, the official press conference of the Po Slovenia race will be complemented by the famous Polževa dirka (Snail race) with an offer of bicycles and cycling equipment. Celje has already been marked and decorated for some time in anticipation of the start of the race, which is another proof that we are looking forward to the start of the fight for the green shirt. The cyclists will be greeted in by a lot of schoolchildren and other sports enthusiasts on the race route tomorrow, so I am sure that the people of Celje will once again prove themselves with an exceptional cheering scene. I wish all cyclists a successful performance in the race and cycling fans plenty of pleasure while watching it - from the start in Celje and all the way to the finish in Novi Mesto."

Mojca Novak, President of the Tour of Slovenia organizational committee: “Tour of Slovenia was born three decades ago. Today is the day before the start of the 29th edition, there were only two season in its history when the race has not been organized - once due to financial problems, once due to the coronavirus epidemic. It all started with a handful of cycling enthusiasts who organized the first edition in the honor of the newly formed country and with desire to create a race where local cyclist will race against top professional from abroad. At the time, no one was thinking about the future and anniversaries… It was not much different when I entered this cycling story twenty years ago. Our focus and priorities were to develop cyclists into winners, to compete in an international environment and to organize races with strong international competition on home soil and this is where Tour of Slovenia is now. We had clear goals and we had a team of people creating a cycling history. The team grew with the race - the team of cyclists, ex-cyclists, cycling officials and enthusiasts, sponsors and donors faced many challenges. They believed in us because we believed in each other and followed our goals.
The Tour of Slovenia has become the trademark of the cycling club Adria Mobil and the country. Allow me to thank two organizations, Adria Mobil and the Slovenian Tourist Board, who "bought" the story that the race, following the example from abroad, can become a promoter of Slovenia, its beauty, tourism and economy, sports and exceptional people. The team of individuals thus grew into a team of partners - the STB, the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport, local communities - municipalities and their institutes, sponsors or economic entities. We prove once again the strength of the team. Therefore, thanks to the STB and the Ministry for being the financiers of the entire advertising and production broadcast on Eurosport this year, and thanks to the municipalities and sponsors that the Cycling Club Adria Mobil can organize this race.
The strength of the team means the success of the Tour of Slovenia. Hard work, trust, cooperation, managing risks (which are many), responsibility - all this is necessary for the Tour of Slovenia to be 30 years old. It was worth to cycle this route and I believe that the race and the cycling club have a bright future. Good luck!”