Rendez-vous on September 3rd and 4th in Kranj

The first day (Saturday, September 3^rd) will be dedicated to youngest cyclists with pushbikes, schoolchildren, families, as well as vintage and electric bicycles. The highlight of L'Étape Slovenia will be the Sunday's event, where cyclists will race a 70 or a 120-kilometer-long course. The exact route will be set in a few weeks.

»We are extremely happy that Kranj will host this event. This is a beautiful opportunity for us and the surrounding municipalities to present ourselves to the world. The race takes place in 21 countries all over the world and now Slovenia and Kranj are also joined in the project« said Matjaž Rakovec, Mayor of the Municipality of Kranj, and reminded of the rich cycling tradition in the city.

There are a lot of top cyclists from Kranj or the surrounding area, both current and former. This year, the Kranj cyclists represented as much as half of the national team at the recent World Championships. Mayor Rakovec also pointed out the great efforts of the city authorities to improve the conditions for cyclists and the close connection in this project with other municipalities from the Gorenjska region.

The ambassador of the project is Slovenia's excellent cyclist Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious cycling team), who was happy to attend the meeting with journalists. »Kranj is a city of sports and a cycling destination. The roads here and around the city are the most beautiful I have ever encountered. This event is also an opportunity for the city, and at the same time a great event worth investing in. I hope that people will also recognize Kranj as a cycling destination. I was also happy to accept the initiative for being the project's ambassador« said Mohorič.

A successful organization of the event in Kranj was also promised by the legend of Kranj's cycling Franc Hvasti, who participated in the World cycling Championships 50 years ago. He said that worries about the organization are unnecessary. »We have a long tradition of organizing races here. We already organized 53 Grand Prix of Kranj races, and prior to that also the Balkan Championships, numerous stages of races in Yugoslavia and Slovenia, and finally all three stages of the Giro d'Italia in Slovenia«.

From the French side of the organization the event was presented by Kevin Quiniou, head of the L'Étape by Tour de France licensed project. »This will be a nice opportunity for amateur cyclists to feel what one stage at the real Tour looks like. We hold these events all over the world and I am happy to be able to share this experience with other people, next year also with the Slovenian people, who are a very cycling nation« said Quiniou, noting that the Slovenian stage of the Tour will be an opportunity for cycling enthusiasts to see where the world's best, among them the locals Tadej Pogačar and Matej Mohorič, practice.

According to Aleš Hostnik, the race director (Sport Media Focus agency), the longer route (approx. 120 km) will have an elevation gain of about 2,000 meters. The race will also visit hometowns of cycling stars from the area, this means Komenda of Tadej Pogačar and Podblica of Matej Mohorič. »Amateur events of the Tour de France include 24 cities in 21 countries and Slovenia is now part of this story. For us, this means a high standard of quality, road closures, technical assistance to cyclists along the route ... In the end, the best will fight for the yellow, green, polka dot and white jerseys in this competition. Being part of this and getting to feel the real Tour will definitely convince many cyclists, as the support from the organizers of the real Tour of France will be present on every meter of the race« added Hostnik.