Three sacred colors of cycling (yellow, pink and red), two non-series masters, one country - Slovenia. A miracle admired by the whole planet.
The small Alpine country is one of the few that can boast of having the winners of the three biggest cycling races in the world. Primoz Roglic put on the pink Giro d'Italia t-shirt and the red one from the Vuelta a España, a Tadej Pogacar - although he didn't manage to surpass it this year either Jonas Vingegord - he has already "wrapped" himself twice in the most valuable one, the yellow one from the Tour de France.
What is the secret of Slovenian success for "Vijesti" story Anze Bašelj, a journalist from RTV Slovenia who has been following cycling for many years and who conducts studio shows on state television during the duration of the world's biggest races.
"Here is the simplest answer - there is no secret. As we are used to from the past - at the right place, at the right time, there was someone who came first and started winning. That's Primož Roglič, and a few years after him Tadej Pogačar came," Bašelj began.
"They have been among the best cyclists in the world for several years now - many countries are wondering how this is possible and what to do to make it happen in their country. Many say that you should enjoy it while it lasts, because a story like this will not happen again. We will see, we hope that at least this one will last as long as possible".
Slovenia has a tradition in cycling, but hardly anyone could have expected that it would make such successes among the giants of this sport - such as Spain, France, Belgium, Italy, and recently Great Britain...
"Cycling has always been popular in Slovenia, I remember how they were Jure Pavlič i Primož Cerin already performed as professional cyclists in Italy in the eighties. At the time of independence, the Dolenj club 'Adria Mobil' started organizing the Race around Slovenia, which celebrated its 30th birthday this year. Our drivers at that time were very successful in the younger categories - Andrei Hauptman was third at the 2001 World Championship, a Tadeja Valjavec i Jani Brajkovic they took 9th place in the overall classification of the Race in France".
The arrival of one guy, however, changed everything...
"With the arrival of Primož Roglič from ski jumping to cycling, this sport has become one of the most popular in Slovenia. The number of recreational players grows every year, and the TV broadcasts are among the most watched sports in Slovenia.
At the same time, big cycling countries envy us that we have two such champions at the same time, and with them some top cyclists, such as Matej Mohoric - one of the best in one-day races", says Bašelj.
A Slovenian beat a Slovenian - a shock for Slovenia
Slovenia has three Grand Tours - will there be more?
“It's hard to say. Roglič won two, but we all know that his biggest wish is the Tour de France. Three years ago, he was on the verge of victory, but Tadej Pogačar surprised him in the last time trial. Although a Slovenian defeated a Slovenian, it was a shock for all of Slovenia. It is a story that will forever remain in Slovenian collective memory. "After two consecutive victories at the Tour, Tadej Pogačar won second place twice, and considering that he is 24 years old, he has a good number of victories in the biggest races," said the journalist from Ljubljana.
However, he adds...
"Although not everything is golden in Slovenian cycling either, the fans are enjoying a winning period that I hope will last for a long time."
Primož and Tadej - champions of different stories
How similar are Pogačar and Roglič, and how different?
“Both are born winners. Whenever they're in a race, they want to win - there weren't many 'riders' like that in the last era. But the two have a completely different story.
Roglič came to this sport very late, even from another sport, and with his rise to the top he became Pogačar's role model. That's why the story of the 2020 Tour de France is so special. Many fans are still of the opinion that Tadej stole the victory from his role model", Bašelj explains.
He believes that Primož is more restrained, while Tadej is a real "showman on a motorbike".
"He is a representative of the young generation that completely revived world cycling and made it more exciting and interesting. With its aggressive way of riding, it has been loved by cycling fans all over the world.
Even when he now finds himself in the company of Jonas Vingegord, he does not give in, fighting and attacking whenever possible. However, in the last two races it was still not enough for the excellent Danish driver".
What do you think about the other Slovenian cyclists - do you see anyone who could repeat the success of the aforementioned tandem?
"Roglič and Pogačar took care of a real cycling boom in Slovenia. This sport is very popular, there are more and more children every year, and more and more recreational players.
However, this is a difficult sport, so it is not to be expected that there will be such champions in every generation. It takes a lot of sacrifice, but you also have to be lucky enough to grow up in an environment with people who help you to ultimately succeed", believes Bašelj.
Roglič - ski jumps, women's bickle, Grand Tour
The story of Primož Roglič, who ended up in bicycling from ski jumping, is well-known, and Bašelj tells how his unreal career went.
"He won the gold team medal at the World Youth Championship, he was very talented, but the transition to a bigger competition was very difficult. When he experienced a terrible fall on Planica, he continued to jump for another four years, but he did not make a breakthrough. Since he was still young, he decided to change," Bašelj recalled.
Getting into cycling was particularly interesting.
"He borrowed a women's bike and went to one of the recreational races. He did not win, but a story unique in world sports began. He bought his first bike when he sold his motorbike and then had to convince a team to give him a chance. He sent e-mails and waited for someone to literally take pity on him. The first to invite him was the ROG team from Ljubljana, who put together a program for him and helped him buy a bicycle. But, apparently, he did not convince them, so in 2013 he got a chance in the main rival of that team - the Adria Mobil team. Three years later, he won a stage at the Giro, and that victory was in his style, given that he was a rookie - there were a lot of problems and inconveniences, but he overcame them with incredible will and fighting spirit and won," says Bašelj.
He also adds that he quickly made up for the fact that his rivals had already been in cycling for a decade or more.
"When he moved to the Dutch Loto-Jumbo team in 2015, his global rise began - and he took Slovenian cycling to unimagined heights".
Roglič, Dončić, Pogačar...
Apart from cycling, Slovenia also works wonders in other sports - can it be said that Pogačar and Roglič are on par with NBA star Luka Dončić in terms of popularity in Slovenia?
"Next to Dončić, Roglič is probably the most popular athlete. During the NBA season, not a day goes by without a report on Luka. Our television also has one of the most visited pages in Slovenia - the most read news is related to Dončić and Roglič, and right behind them, in my opinion, is Pogačar. Slovenia is a sports country and sport is one of the few things that connects us at all times," revealed Bašelj.
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