Cycling Through Summer

Thus, let us all take a moment to show appreciation of our bicycles and let them mingle with others at one of the upcoming bicyle events!

Franja Marathon

The Franja Marathon celebrates the 41st cycling event of its kind, named by Tone Fornezzi (Tof), Zvone Zanoškar and Rog's cycling team. When taking a rest during the riding of the then marathon route back in 1979, their eyes caught sight of the signpost for the former Franja Partisan Hospital which brought about the idea of naming the marathon after it.

The more than 400 kilometers long beauty trail, which is now the official candidate for membership in the series of the best cycling marathons in the world under the auspices of the International Cycling Union UCI-Golden Bike, consists of five routes that can be traversed on Saturday, June 11, and Sunday, June 12.

Barjanka

The 72 kilometers long route, which can be ridden on Saturday, June 11, winds between the meadows of the Ljubljana Marshes and the flourishing fields of the suburban Ljubljana, and does not boast its second name for no reason. The so-called Cycling Experience in the middle of the Ljubljana Marshes is actually a part of the Franja Marathon, but deserves a special mention, due to its luscious green beauty.

Barjanka is a memory of the past days, when marathons were held on unpaved paths of remote places, and cyclists were able to observe the beautiful landscape and breathe clean air while doing something useful for their body and soul. The route may now run along more paved paths, but it still runs along the same beautiful landscape, beginning at the edges of the City of Ljubljana and continuing through the suburbs of Brezovica, Log - Dragomer, Vrhnika, Borovnica, Ig and Škofljica - all of them being excellent starting points for active holidays in nature.

Velo-city

Velo-city is an annual world congress that takes place in Ljubljana between 14 and 17 June and represents a slightly more passive part of cycling: meetings about ongoing and future projects, measures and activities in cycling, followed by a more active part in the form of a cycling parade!

To honour this year's summit and its motto "Cycle the Change", Sara Lamprečnik recorded a sarcastically called song titled "Change is Strange", which has also become the official song of this year's Velo-city.

Tour of Slovenia

The Tour of Slovenia will warm Slovenian soil between 15 and 19 June. The participants of its 28th edition will also cycle through Ljubljana and numerous cities of the Central Slovenia region: Škofljica, Vrhnika, Ivančna Gorica and Velika planina.

The beauties of Ljubljana and the first three listed cities in the region will be on display as part of the 5th stage, which will take place on 19 June, leading from Vrhnika to Novo mesto, while Velika planina will be the finish line of the tour's 4th stage, which will take place on 18 June. The 3rd stage of the tour will take place further east, on 17 June, and will offer stunning views of the Žalec and Celje landscapes, while the 2nd stage will traverse between Ptuj and Rogaška Slatina. As expected, the 1st stage will start on 15 June in Nova Gorica and lead all the way to Postojna.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) has classified the race in the UCI HC (Hors Class) category, which is the top competition rank in road cycling for the World Tour series. With its inclusion in the Eurosport TV programme and broadcast on RTV Slovenija, the race is usually followed by more than 35 million viewers. 

The Tour of Slovenia is definitely attended only by the most prudent cyclists. Those who do not consider themselves to be one of them: do not fret! If you want to rest your eyes on something beautiful while cycling and still feel the fresh breeze in your hair (but with no leg cramps), the solution offers itself in the shape of various cycling routes that run through Ljubljana and the pertaining region. And not just in June, but throughout the year.