Slovenia has two million or more inhabitants and, among them, two of the great dominators of contemporary elite cycling. Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic They made history for their country by winning major events on the UCI calendar, making their country the first to win the three Grand Tours and the World Cup in the same year in the men’s category.
It should be noted that this milestone was achieved alone Annemiek van Vleutenin the women’s category, for the Netherlands in 2022. This year, Pogacar swept its triple crown (Giro, Tour and World Cup) and Roglic put the icing on the cake with his fourth Vuelta.
Slovenia, until recently, did not have a great cycling culture, but its first great successes on the main stages of the world scene promoted a group of powerful riders who reached their peak after generation. The best example is Andrej Hauptmanworld bronze in 2001 (the first medal for the country) and currently sports director of the Slovenian national team.
“The current generation of riders is not focused on the Top 3 in a general classification or the Top 5 in a stage. They have a mentality to win,” reflected the former cyclist in conversation with Rouleur in 2019before the start of the boom of his country. “We’re at a point now where anything is possible. The runners we have make everything possible,” he added.
He himself told how the motivation and confidence of Slovenian cyclists has grown over the past decades. “I realized that someone my size can win, I can too. In 2000, he was eleventh in the World Championships. And I said to myself, wowso is it possible? The following year I won a medal,” he recalled about his experience in the Gorazd Stangeljcurrent sports director of Bahrain.
Until 1998, Slovenia did not win any stages in elite professional competitions sanctioned by the UCI. 2019 was the year two prodigies opened the can. Roglic with a podium in the Giro and then the first victory in the Vuelta, the first major victory won by a Slovenian in the entire history. He was joined on that podium by Pogacar, third in that historic edition. Since then, between them, they have accumulated eight Grand Tours wins.
Matej Mohoricanother one of the great references of the talent crop of the current generation of Slovenian stars, confirmed that the first victories, and more than the present, made the country and its cyclists get a wonderful reputation within the peloton. “There aren’t many riders who really let down the teams that invested in them. “Success requires more success”he concluded.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
