Details of 26th Tour of Slovenia revealed

Tour of Slovenia organizers today revealed all details of the 26^th edition of the Tour of Slovenia, international cycling race that will take place from 19^th to 23^rd June 2019. 841 kilometres long race is now in the UCI HC category, but keeps the format with five stages. 18 teams are signed for the race, including five World Tour teams: BORA – hansgrohe, Mitchelton – Scott, Bahrain – Merida, Team Dimension Data & UAE Team Emirates. Press conference took place in the building of Telekom Slovenije, main sponsor of the race.

“2019 edition of the tour is certainly different than the past editions and will take us around Slovenia in a new, special way. Race will start in capital Ljubljana and finish in Rogaška Slatina on the first they, then we’ll go from Maribor to Celje and from Žalec to Idrija. On Saturday we start in Nova Gorica, on the boarder with Italy, and finish in Ajdovščina. Last day is reserved for stage from Trebnje to Novo mesto. There will be no big climbs and no time-trial on this year’s edition, so the battle for the overall victory will last from start to finish, literally on the every meter of the course. Difficulty will increase with each of the stages and cyclists will have to be focused all the time. First and last stages should end with the sprint finish, but successful breakaway is not excluded. It’s also possible that we’ll get the overall winner on the very end. Race will finish on the completely rebuild Main square in Novo mesto, but that is not the same finish we know from the past,” explained Race Director Bogdan Fink. His vision is also shared by two Slovenian cycling aces and ambassadors of the race – Tadej Pogačar, member of UAE Team Emirates, and Marko Kump, aka. Arrow from Dolenjska, now again member of Adria Mobil Cycling.

Over 125 cyclists are expected on the start of the 26^th edition of Tour of Slovenia that is again organized under the slogan Fight for Green. However we’ll not talk about favourites now, we’ll wait for that until we see the final start list.

Eurosport will have a live broadcast of the race – in more than 120 countries around the world, live broadcast will be also available on Slovenian national television. 2018 edition reached over nine million viewers from around the globe, which only confirms how interested cyclists are in this race. Reach on social media was counted in tens of millions.

Race organizer is Cycling club Adria Mobil with the support of title sponsor and one of the main partners of the race Adria Mobil. Main sponsor of the race is Telekom Slovenije, provider of the most advanced telecommunication services, key partner of the race is also Slovenian Tourist Board. Avto Triglav, official Fiat distributor will provide official vehicles of the race, while the Slovenian police will take care of the safety on the roads.

Race organizers will also award the best host of the race – the competition will take place among all destinations that will host start, intermediate finish or stage finish. Members of media and public will vote in the first round of the competition, while the final winner will be chosen by jury.

INDIVIDUAL STATEMENTS:

Tadej Pogačar, UAE Team Emirates: "I already have two white jerseys from the race, for sure it would be great to have green one as well. I will do my best, just like on every race. The whole race is difficult and anything can happen on four out of five stages. I think we’ll also have to fight for bonus seconds on the intermediate sprints and maybe contest in the sprint finishes. Third stage with finish in Idrija will be very hard and a big selection can happen there, but maybe that will not be the case. Fourth stage will be even harder with the climb to Predmeja. It’s possible that a small group will come together to the finish on that day as well, but the list of overall contenders will shorten for sure."

Marko Kump, Adria Mobil Cycling: "Race will be very hard, but at the same time very attractive for fans. Anything can happen in any of the stages, even in the first and last that are generally reserved for sprinters. There are no mountain finishes, but interesting descents ahead of ends of stages. I’m of course most interested in first and last stages, I will aim for top results there. Especially the last stage will be very interesting as we will approach Main square in Novo mesto in a new way. We’ll see a group sprint finish, I just don’t know how big that group will be."

Samo Ošina, B2C Director, Telekom Slovenije: “Tour of Slovenia is among the most important sports events in Slovenia, and connects professional athletes, amateur cyclists and fans. This is why we proudly support the race for many years and cheer for our cyclists. We believe that Tour of Slovenia will again surpass expectations, both from organizational and competitive side. Fans will create excellent atmosphere all around Slovenia and have a great experience for sure.”

Mag. Maja Pak, Director General of the Slovenian Tourist Board: “Great results of the last year’s Tour of Slovenia cycling race have encouraged the Slovenian Tourist Board to participate in the organization of the race also this year. Last year, the broadcasting on the Eurosport and the exposure on social media networks helped boost the I Feel Slovenia brand and presented Slovenia as an exceptional green country with many sights and friendly people.

Together with the partners and destinations involved in the project, excellent results were achieved. Slovenia fascinated more than 9.3 million spectators who watched the fight for the green jersey on Eurosport television channels and reached more than 37.6 million followers through various social media channels. What is more: the efforts were awarded also by the International Cycling Federation (UCI), which classified the race into a higher category. This clearly shows that we are doing well, and I believe that this year, the Tour of Slovenia cycling race will again be a major success that will enthral cycling enthusiasts in Slovenia and around the world.

In partnership with Slovenian tourist destinations and Adria Mobil, the STB will also this year buy advertising space on the global television network Eurosport and ensure the broadcasting of the race. To additionally support the project, we will once again organise the Cycling Ambassadors of Slovenia contest, in which five selected cycling enthusiasts from our key markets, who enjoy great social media exposure, will between 28 May and 2 June discover the highlights of Slovenia by bike. In doing so, they will learn about our natural and cultural sights and gastronomy, which is also complemented by a set of promotional activities connected with the title of the European Region of Gastronomy 2021.”

Photos by Vid Ponikvar / Sportida

Tour of Slovenia on web and social media:

Website: www.tourofslovenia.si

Facebook: TourOfSlovenia

Instagram: @TourOfSloveniaOfficial

Twitter: @TourOfSlovenia

Official hashtags: #TourOfSlovenia, #FightForGreen

Slovenia online: www.slovenia.info,#ifeelsLOVEnia