Tour of Slovenia returns to pre-Tour de France slot

Slovenia's premier cycling race is returning to its traditional pre-Tour de France calendar slot this year.

The 32nd Tour of Slovenia, spanning 800.6 kilometres over five stages from 17 to 21 June, will start in Velenje and end in Novo Mesto, while the highlight will be a gruelling climb to the iconic 1,611-metre Vršič Pass, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

Following a scheduling shift by the International Cycling Union last year that placed the event immediately after the Giro d'Italia, the race returns to its preferred window two weeks prior to the Tour de France. This allows organisers to attract top-tier riders using the five-day event as a final tune-up for the biggest event of the season.

The race will open with two sprinter-friendly flat stages: a 141.6-km ride from Velenje to the spa town of Rogaška Slatina, followed by a 176.8-km leg from Radlje ob Dravi in the north to Ormož.

The battle for the general classification will ignite on stage three, a dynamic 137-km route from Maribor to Celje that finishes with a sharp ascent to Celjska koča.

Saturday's penultimate leg is billed as the Queen Stage. Starting in Kranj, the 183.1-km alpine test briefly crosses into Italy before tackling the Vršič Pass - a punishing 12.6-km climb at an average gradient of 7.7% - for the first time in 13 years. Packing nearly 4,000 metres of elevation gain, the stage will conclude in the alpine resort of Kranjska Gora.

The final stage, running 162.1 km from Litija to Novo Mesto, could still provide late general classification drama. Riders will have to navigate the steep Trška Gora climb in the final 45 kilometres before a traditional main square finish, bringing the race's total elevation gain to 11,000 metres.

Presenting the race on 14 April, the organisers confirmed the participation of at least two World Tour teams in Bahrain-Victorious and Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, with negotiations ongoing for two more amid a spate of early-season injuries. They will be joined by three domestic squads. A final start list will be confirmed a few days prior to the race.

Slovenian superstars Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič have each won the race twice, but it remains unclear for now whether either of them will compete this year. Norway's Anders Halland Johannessen took the top honours in last year's edition.

Photo: Bor Slana/STA