The Giro d'Italia is due to start on the banks of the Black Sea in Nessebar, Bulgaria, on Friday May 8th with an exciting route and a strong lineup of riders. That startlist, however, is lacking any riders from the recent cycling powerhouse of Slovenia for the first time in 26 years with the likes of Tadej Pogačar, Primož Roglič, and the rest all opting for Tour de France or La Vuelta a España focused seasons.
Matevž Govekar (Bahrain Victorious) was originally on the roster for his team, but the sprinter from Godovič in western Slovenia suffered a knee injury after crashing while out training on Thursday, April 30th, Slovenian outlet Peloton reported on May 5th. Bahrain Victorious had hoped that Govekar could recover with some rest over the weekend, but before they could conclude any tests the rider pulled himself out due to extreme pain, without any specific diagnosis.
The 26-year-old rider, who finished fourth in this year's Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, was the last remaining Slovenian after Luka Mezgec (Team Jayco AlUla) had already withdrawn with fractured ribs he suffered at Scheldeprijs on April 8th. He has not had a return date confirmed, either.
Govekar's replacement in the Bahrain Victorious squad is set to be Australian strongman Rob Stannard with the team shifting their focus ever so slightly onto their GC leader of Santiago Buitrago with support from Damiano Caruso, Fran Miholjević, Afonso Eulálio, Mathijs Paasschens, Alec Segaert and Edoardo Zambanini.
A golden era, an empty start list
Slovenia are very much in their Golden Era of cycling with superstars of the sport, mainly Pogačar, dominating races. So this could be seen as rather ironic. The fact is, and Peloton points this out as well, Slovenian riders aren't as focused on Italian teams anymore. If there is a talented Slovenian rider he is very quickly snapped up by one of the WorldTour teams. The Italian ProTeams in the second division are now looking across the Atlantic at South America or even across to Asia to fill roster and find sponsorshipr support.
The riders from Slovenia are now riding the Tour de France far more than the Giro d'Italia because of this. It would've been one of the lowest participations in the race for Slovenian riders had Mezgec and Govekar raced. But without them, it is a surprising yet interesting stat.
In recent years, the Giro has dipped into Slovenia. This, obviously, attracted more Slovenian riders to race through their homeland during a Grand Tour. This year, though, the race only leaves Italy once after it returns from the Grande Partenza in Bulgaria with a dip into Switzerland on stage 16, beginning the final week.
However, there is a small bit of Slovenian representation with Croatian rider, Miholjević, starting his cycling career at the Slovenian Novo Mesto club. It doesn't change the fact but it is some comfort for any Slovenian Giro fan, I suppose.
The 109th Giro d'Italia begins with three stages in Bulgaria before tackling 18 more in Italy from the toe of the boot all the way to the very mountainous top with an action packed final week that is stuffed filled with summit finishes. The riders will tackle the 3,468km route from May 8th in Nessebar and finish in Rome on May 31st with a peloton of 184 riders from 23 teams.
Cover image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com
