Vršič Pass & Mangart

Without wishing to denigrate the achievements of Jani Brajkovič, Simon Špilak and Borut Bo�ič, Slovenia has only recently come to the fore in professional cycling. But now, with Primo� Roglič and Tadej Pogačar battling it out for supremacy at the pointy end of the biggest races in the world, the Republic of Slovenia (as it is officially known) has the eyes of the cycling world on it.

Nestled between Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia, about half the size of Switzerland and with a population of just over two million, it’s fair to say this state of the former Yugoslavia is not large. However, diminutive though it may be, Slovenia crams in a lot of mountains and has the sort of roads that certainly inspire you to throw