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How Slovenia helped Tadej Pogacar become Tour de France star

July 24, 2025

The 26-year-old from Slovenia is already one of the greatest cyclists ever. But how did the country help him grow?

Tadej Pogacar riding during stage 15 of the Tour de France
Tadej Pogacar (in yellow) has once again dominated the field at the 2025 Tour de FranceImage: Jan De Meuleneir/IMAGO

For a country with just over 2 million people, Slovenia's success in sport is astounding. They won seven medals at the last Winter Olympics, they have one of the biggest names in the NBA today in Luka Doncic, and the world's best cyclist, Tadej Pogacar, also comes from the small European nation. Are Slovenia just enjoying a rare generation of gifted athletes, or is something else happening?

Gregor Jurak, a professor at the University of Ljubljana who specializes in physical fitness and activity, believes there are a number of reasons why Slovenia is a great place for young athletes to grow. 

"All the population is quite fit, and have also high physical literacy, so they have a lot of knowledge and they are quite motivated," Jurak told DW.

Schools lay the foundation

This is all starts at school, where staff competency is very high. Physical education teachers are required to undergo five years of specialist training before teaching, a much higher standard than many other European nations. Slovenia also has more physical education classes, and those classes are relatively small, with a maximum of 20 kids.

Sports facilities are well-developed. Girls are separated from boys from the sixth grade, which according to Jurak's research improves girls' chances of developing stronger physical fitness. The school system also works in tandem with sports clubs. All of this creates a great foundation for young people to be in good physical health.

"We also found out in our studies that mothers define the lifestyle of kids in the family. And since our mothers are quite physically active — they are among the best in Europe — they are actually passing these habits on to their kids," said Jurak.

The reason why mothers have a greater impact than fathers? "They are the managers of free time. They are holding all the legs of the table in the family," he explained.

On top of all of that is the SLOfit program, a national monitoring system for the physical and motor development of children. It has been used annually in every elementary and high school in Slovenia since 1987.

Jurak is the lead researcher on SLOfit, and told DW how the data gives parents the chance to observe their child's physical development, while teachers can use it to help children who are struggling physically. While primarily a health tool, it can also help parents find opportunities in the local community that are suited to their child's fitness levels, as well as help identify which kids are showing extraordinary ability.

Lake Bled is a popular tourist destination, but Slovenia's landscape as a whole is a great place to develop as an athleteImage: Sieghart Mair/Zoonar/picture alliance

'Football is not so dominant'

After its split from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, sports became a large part of Slovenia's national identity, particularly winter sports. Slovenia's geographical diversity — the country has ample green spaces, mountains, hills and flatlands — has also played a role in the growth of sports. Jurak believes one of the biggest factors, however, is the fact that football hasn't taken up all the oxygen in the room.

"Football is not so dominant," he said. "I think this is also one of the bad sides of football because it's so much commercialized that they can run all over the other sports. In Slovenia this is not true.

"Maybe this is one of the advantages for our young athletes, because they are not exposed to such high commercialization in early periods, because this could also affect them in a really negative way, also when it comes to personal traits."

Jurak said the country is trying to stimulate other activities, including Slovenia's most popular sport, mountaineering. Cycling is also popular, but mostly for recreational rather than competition purposes.

Talent and development

Beyond the structure and landscape of Slovenia is also the question of natural ability. According to British cycling magazine Rouleur, Pogacar's VO2 max (the rigorous exercise test that determines the maximum amount of oxygen a person can consume during physical activity) is an astounding 89.4. The range for a Tour de France peloton rider is between 70 and 85. This leaves many wondering whether Pogacar had the gifts already, or if it was growing up in Slovenia that made it possible.

For Jurak, the answer is clear: "He's a super talent, but would [Pogacar] be such a kind of super talent without this environment? Probably not."

Pogacar is on the verge of winning his fourth Tour de France. Only four riders have won five and at 26, there is a real chance that the Slovenian star might win more than anyone ever before. Perhaps the greatest part of his legacy though, will be what his success on the bike tells us about talent development, and what it has done for the people of Slovenia.

"In the past, we didn't have high self-esteem I would say, as Slovenians," Jurak said. "But in past two decades, especially through the sport success now we found, we can compare to the big nations. So I think this is the major advantage of this sport success. 

"We are a small nation, we are just 2 million, but our sports success is really coming from identifying and nurturing these few athletes within a small pool of kids," he concluded, pointing to the examples of both Pogacar and fellow cyclist Primoz Roglic.

Edited by: Chuck Penfold

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