{"id":64846,"date":"2025-08-12T20:47:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T20:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/64846\/"},"modified":"2025-08-12T20:47:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T20:47:09","slug":"tadej-gave-me-some-advice-when-i-had-to-choose-between-quick-step-and-ag2r-new-slovenian-starlet-taken-under-pogacars-wing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/64846\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cTadej gave me some advice when I had to choose between Quick-Step and AG2R\u201d \u2013 New Slovenian starlet taken under Pogacar\u2019s wing"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

That kind of direct influence from a Tour de France winner is unheard of in most countries. But in Slovenia \u2014 a nation that has, over the last decade, punched far above its weight in world cycling \u2014 it\u2019s starting to become part of the culture.<\/p>\n

Cycling\u2019s Rising HeartlandTadej Pogacar, Primoz Roglic<\/a>, Matej Mohoric<\/a>: the names roll off the tongue with the ease of continental dominance. But behind them is a swelling tide of juniors and U23 riders making their way through the ranks, many of them growing up not just inspired by Slovenian greatness, but quite literally next door to it.<\/p>\n

Gal Stare grew up in Komenda, the same town where Pogacar was raised. \u201cI live just a few houses down from his family. His parents are amazing neighbours \u2014 just lovely people,\u201d Stare says. \u201cTadej isn\u2019t home much these days, of course. I only really see him at Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet when he is back, the locals notice. There\u2019s a quiet kind of pilgrimage taking place in Komenda, as Stare notes with a smile: \u201cI\u2019ve started seeing a bit of \u2018Pogacar tourism\u2019\u2014Slovenians coming from other regions just to ride here and see the places associated with him. Even some Italians. It\u2019s pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"pogacar<\/p>\n

Pogacar gave Slovenia its first ever Rainbow Jersey in 2024<\/p>\n

Riding in the Shadow of Giants<\/p>\n

Slovenia\u2019s ascent in the sport is as cultural as it is competitive. Cycling is now deeply rooted in its youth system, with clubs expanding and talent pathways becoming more clearly defined \u2014 something Pogacar himself is proud of. \u201cSlovenian cycling is developing really well, which is best seen in the youngest,\u201d he recently told S.Sportal. \u201cMore and more of them are joining clubs, competing and showing interest. And the more a child is in cycling, the greater the chance that one of them will be stubborn and persistent enough to reach the senior level and succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gal Stare is one of those children. He was on a bike by the age of four, and began training seriously around ten or eleven, inspired by his father, Matej, a cyclist himself for a decade. Now at 17, he\u2019s already received the kind of personal mentorship most young riders only dream of.<\/p>\n

Not that training with a four-time Tour de France winner is easy. \u201cIf I\u2019m in his slipstream, I can manage,\u201d Stare admits with a laugh. \u201cBut if he starts doing intervals, it\u2019s over for me. I\u2019ve tried it once or twice, but it didn\u2019t last long!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Road Ahead<\/p>\n

The pipeline from Slovenia is full, but not overcrowded. What sets it apart is not just the calibre of its elite riders, but their willingness to invest in the future \u2014 not in grandiose national academies or press-friendly foundations, but through authentic, human relationships.<\/p>\n

Pogacar doesn\u2019t have to mentor the kid next door. But he does, quietly, thoughtfully. In doing so, he\u2019s helping to shape the next chapter of Slovenian cycling \u2014 not through dominance, but through continuity.<\/p>\n

If Gal Stare and others like him are any indication, the road ahead is already being paved \u2014 not by coincidence, but by design. And Pogacar\u2019s wheel is still a very good one to follow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" That kind of direct influence from a Tour de France winner is unheard of in most countries.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64847,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82],"class_list":["post-64846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}