a decade ago, mentioning Slovenia in the sports world automatically pointed us towards basketball and winter sports. This small country embedded in the Julian Alps was not so unknown as that in cycling but had an impact limited to the performance of one or two riders with a good part of the contingent who displayed themselves as men of duty.
The true spearhead of Slovenian cycling remains Janez Brajkovic, who begins his 17th career this season with the Serbian Continental team Ferei-CCN Metalec. This long career has been dotted with memorable results, whose climax is set on his victory at the Critérium du Dauphiné 2010, in front of a certain Alberto counter. This one-week racing specialist also achieved an honorable 9th place in the Tour de France 2012, propelling his country to a level never reached at the time.
Speaking of one-week errand specialist, we find all the mastery in Simon Špilak. “Ice-man” had this particularity to shine exclusively at the start of the season. He has made Switzerland his favorite territory of action, with two Tours of Switzerland (2015 and 2017) and a Tour of Romandie (2010) in the purse. He has never done the Grand Tours, finding them very boring, besides hating the heat. Having retired in 2019, he witnessed the early outbreak of Matej Mohorič, who used a new style of descent, banned since last April, to win in a resounding way on the hilly circuit of Florence to the world hopes of 2013. Just 19 years, he joined the World Tour, constituting a great curiosity at the time. But this choice to quickly rise in the professional environment turned out to be a failure.. He wandered from team to team, before reaching maturity in 2018. Since then, he is one of the few riders to have won all three Grand Tours.
The next cyclist switched to the bike to get up to speed, after an injury in ski jumping (original discipline). But it will be fine in the end, to become a juggernaut. Primož Roglič counts indeed three Vuelta, fifteen stage victories on the Grand Tours and a monument (Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2020). The Olympic gold medalist (time trial) nevertheless runs behind the Tour de France for nearly three years, without success, mainly upset by Tadej Cake maker the latest thundering Slovenians to date.
The native of Klanec breaks all precocity records constantly flirting with the peaks : 5e of the Tour of Slovenia only 18 years, his integration at the higher level was very fast, so much so that in three years he won two Tour de France in addition to Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Lombardy.
In 2022, they will be seven Slovenian professionals on the circuit to try to keep the country in the top 10 UCI of the best nations.
They are no longer in U23 and seem to have missed their chances
In this modern cycling where many go directly from junior to professional, perfecting his stripes in the Espoir category without a contract in the upper level destroys the hopes of one day being able to realize his dreams.
We deplore this absence of a reference structure in Eastern Europe, leaving most young people behind. Last year, we only counted 4 continental teams for this geographical group, before the addition this season of the Serbs of the Ferei-CCN Metalac and Slovenians from Cycling Team Kranj, who return to this stage after ten years in Elite.
It is in this Slovenian club that Jaka Primožič continued its development for half a decade. Torn between his military service and cycling, he could never be consistent on this racing schedule without great varieties. Versatile in his junior years, he has many feats to his credit, so much so that we think he can only thrive in his new Austrian team : the Hrinkow Advarics Cycleang. A choice all the more surprising since he did not take the direction of’Adria Mobile, unlike his former teammate Nik Čemažar, who clinched his first victory in the Montenegrin Adriatic Race a few months ago. This slender climbing roller has quite a few solid references in junior (very often superior to Pogačar) but has been a bit lost in recent seasons. Perhaps he wants to use the same launching pad as Roglič by integrating the historyand Adria mobile ?
Cthis integration, Kritsjan Hočevar did it ago 18 months and released a well-crafted season in 2021. His greatest result remains his 2nd place in the Course des Nations, but it stays on the tightrope with a versatile shape depending on the race. In additions d’Adria Mobile, Ljubjana Gusto also trains young riders and has seen Tadej Pogačar pass through these ranks. It is in this structure that Žiga Jerman returned to revive after a brief pro season with Androni Sidermec. A situation for the less bitter for the one who went on an adventure very early at the continentale FDJ.
They will be 36 in Continental, either aand hausse de 50 % compared to the workforce of recent years, including a nice skewer for less than 23 years.
Gal Glivar the next prodigy ?
Being only of 2002, he is the author of an incredible season. Ses 44 days of racing have clearly highlighted its enormous potential and it is above all its great consistency that is most surprising.. Over seven months, he chained top performances in the general classifications of races such as the Tour of Hungary, the Tour of Slovenia or the Tour of the Czech Republic. He did well on the mountain stages of the Tour de l'Avenir, being the 7th best young rider. Ending the season on a high, it is only natural to think that in its evolution the coming season would be the year of the big explosion. He also agreed to answer a few questions. :
Cycling Times : Hello Gal, can you first introduce yourself to our readers ?
Gal Glivar : Hi my name is Gal Glivar. I have 19 years old and I am a Slovenian cyclist running at continental level with Adria Mobile.
CT : What made you get into cycling? ?
GG : I really appreciate the freedom that lies in this sport. When I train I am disconnected from the world and enjoy nature and constant mobility.
CT : Who was your favorite runner when you were younger ?
GG : Clearly Janez Brajkovič who has been in the top 10 of the Tour de France. And even now he's one of my favorites.
CT : How did you find your past season ?
GG : I alternated the good and the bad. I started my season badly with a bad fall. Then I came back in May and then everything went well.
CT : What was your best performance last year? ?
GG : In each race I gave my best but 11th place in the European Championships is much more important to me..
CT : You will be one of the most followed U23 riders this season, What are your goals ?
GG : My main challenge this season is to correct my mistakes and above all to learn from my more experienced teammates.. I don't want to skip a step.
CT : You spent a good part of January on Teide, how did you find this training camp ?
GG : I was for three weeks on the island of Gran Canaria. With the team, we have made a very good preparation for the coming season. All the conditions are met to ride there. This week-end [ndlr : last weekend] we will start another training camp in Croatia.
CT : What races do you dream of winning as a professional? ?
GG : The Tour de France is a dream for every rider I believe.
CT : In which category of runners can you be classified ?
GG : I love climbing and I put a lot of effort into improving myself. Surely I want to be a climber.
CT : What do national icons mean to you? (Cake maker, HornsC et Mohorič) ?
GG : Slovenia is a small country and having the best riders on the circuit is a real pleasure. But in the past we had very good riders like Simon Špilak, Janez Brajkovic, Tadej Valjavec and so many others.
CT : How do you find the Adria Mobile project for young runners ?
GG : This is my 11th year in the structure, from the U13 categories to the elite. It's a team near me. I like it a lot and I feel like in a second family..
CT : What will be your recovery race ?
GG : I will resume in Croatia on the Istrian Spring Trophy.
Thanks to Gal Glivar for giving us her time and we wish her the best for this year.
Other nuggets ?
We can pick two out of the lot, although the addition of the new development-focused continental teams makes it easier to hatch other shoots.
The first is Fran Miholjević who finds himself in the same performance waters as Glivar (same age). He also experienced the Adria Mobile. However, he is Croatian and can hope to impact the history of his country. Much more complete than Glivar, he has a lot to do to at least make people forget Kristijan Đurasek or Robert Kišerlovski, two great figures of Croatian cycling. The first known in a disastrous way for an end of career tangled with doping and the second for his two tops 10 in the general classification of the Giro.
Miholjević has been running for the Italian team since last year Cycling team Fruili taking two time trial victories, in 2021 especially.
The second is Matevž Govekar who also deserves, Well Named, to be referenced. Unknown until 2020, he signed for the Tirol KTM, Austrian majority structure. This sprinter puncher finished in 6th place in the Slovenian championship, just behind Pogačar, and also at the 6 and the Matteotti Trophy, by being the first non-professional to finish so high. It has fewer racing days than the first mentioned but at 22 years, it would be interesting to see it on a solid schedule.
To conclude the series of good news, there is the launch of the Thank you Team (sous l'initiative de Tadej Pogačar) a classe Junior, gathering in all 24 Slovenes of the generation 2005-2006. They won't all become big stars but one thing is for sure, this is a big step forward in reducing the loss of young very early, as the example of Izidor Penko shows, who could not have adequate support after his good performance as a junior.
