Two Slovenians make their home country rave

“This is no longer a fairy tale or a dream, all this is reality. One of the biggest stories is currently happening in Slovenian sport,” wrote the largest daily newspaper “Delo” after the next double success at the 107th Tour de France. For the newspaper “Vecer” it is a “dream duel” between yellow-wearing Primoz Roglic and his young rival Tadej Pogacar. Little Slovenia, a country with just two million inhabitants and a penchant for football and winter sports, rules cycling. How is that possible? “The result of hard work,” says the 21-year-old tour debutant Pogacar. After his triumph at the Grand Colombier, he became the youngest rider in 86 years to win two Tour stage victories in one year. In the overall standings he is only 40 seconds behind Roglic. The rest, especially last year's winner Egan Bernal, have already been left behind. “Rivals, and also friends” Roglic has been wearing the yellow jersey since the ninth stage. It should stay that way until Paris if his compatriot doesn't get in his way. “We are rivals and also friends. We come from the same country, but we both want to win on the bike,” says Roglic, describing the relationship. Sometimes they even train together, although a session can be “hard,” Pogacar adds. Two friends, two compatriots, two rivals - but also fundamentally different. Roglic only started cycling at the age of 26, after ending his ski jumping career. A late starter, in complete contrast to Pogacar, who has been pedaling passionately since he was nine years old. The boy from Komenda has always been ahead of his time. In his youth, he regularly outpaced his older rivals. And last year he won three stages at the Vuelta, something no rider before him had achieved on a major tour at the age of 20. The organizers of the Tour of California even had to redesign the award ceremony for Pogacar. Because he was not yet 21, he was denied the bottle of champagne. Two different driving styles And their driving style could hardly be more opposite. Roglic always wants to have everything under control with his super team Jumbo-Visma. He strictly follows a plan. This is how he introduced himself to the team managers at the end of 2015. He wants to win the tour in five years. The plan seems to be working. Pogacar only knows the motto “All or nothing”. Attack whenever possible. “What do I have to lose?” says the youngster. Similarly, last year he stormed to third place overall with his solo victory on the penultimate stage of the Vuelta.

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Two Slovenians make their home country rave

Primoz Roglic and Tadej Pogacar dominate the Tour de France 2020. The two Slovenians are generating unprecedented ratings in their home country and the local daily newspapers are running out of superlatives.

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