Prime Minister Golob: Sincere congratulations to the exceptional Slovenian cyclists!
Reception in honor of Slovenian and French cyclists at the end of the Tour de France | Author Žan Kolman/KPV
In his address, he first paid tribute to the Slovenian cyclists. “It is an incredible honour to be here with you after Tadej Pogačar’s exceptional victory in the Tour de France yesterday. Today, we are celebrating this achievement together, but no champion triumphs alone. In this spirit, I would first like to acknowledge the sports director of the UAE Emirates-XRG team, Andrej Hauptman, as well as the other Slovenian cyclists: Primož Roglič, Matej Mohorič and Luka Mezgec.”
The Prime Minister then expressed his gratitude to Primož Roglič. “I believe that, inspired by Primož, Tadej often found things much easier. Therefore, our nation is deeply grateful to Primož for paving the way and making such incredible, positive achievements possible. And whenever there is a debate about who is better, we all know who came first. And this is what counts the most,” he said.
Further in his speech, Prime Minister Golob highlighted Slovenia’s commitment to remaining and strengthening its position as a sports nation. “We are a sports nation not by chance, but because of our thoughtful, conscious decisions to invest in our youth and public infrastructure. Most of our sports infrastructure in Slovenia is financed by local communities or the state. And this is precisely what makes it accessible to everyone,” he emphasised, adding that this accessibility allows sport to become a part of people’s daily lives and instils true values in young people, such as sportsmanship, fair play, solidarity and cooperation.
The Slovenian Prime Minister emphasised that although cycling may seem like an individual sport at first glance, it is not. “We have proven this in Slovenia. Cycling has become our national sport as a result of a conscious decision, and I believe it will remain so in the future,” he said.
The Prime Minister also stressed that Slovenia is a proud host of top-level sports events, in both individual and team sports. “We dare to dream that the Grand Départ of the 2029 Tour de France will take place right here in Slovenia. Yesterday I formally submitted a letter of intent to the Tour de France organizers, expressing our commitment to hosting this prestigious event in Slovenia. It would be a tribute to our champions and a great source of inspiration for future generations of Slovenian athletes,” concluded Prime Minister Robert Golob.