SLOVENIA'S 5 CORE VALUES

What loyalty, what pride! Even if we don't like a writer very much, even if we don't like a theatre performance or a film. not seated and we have different tastes in music. Even though we each root for our club, our team, our sport, our favourite athlete of the year; winter or summer.

We are the only nation that has a public holiday and a day off work to celebrate culture. We use this day to visit concerts, theatres, museums, libraries and galleries. We are also the only nation to have a public holiday on a day when we celebrate sport, even though it is not a day off. It would be difficult to cram all the sports matches, derbies, tournaments and leagues into one day; such as at local, national, regional and European level, not to mention World Cups and championships. 

Slovenians compete in almost all disciplines and most often aim for high, if not the highest, rankings. We are proud every time we see the Slovenian flag on the winners' pole and when we sing our national anthem, the Slovenian national anthem, the Slovenian national anthem, the Slovenian national anthem, the Slovenian national anthem, the Slovenian national anthem, the Slovenian national anthem, the Slovenian national anthem, the Slovenian national anthem, the Slovenian national anthem, the Slovenian national anthem, the Slovenian national anthem. Prešeren, who is somewhere over the rainbow, is proud of his nation. He is Guiltythat we have Prešeren Day - a celebration of culture. He is probably now proud of Physical Culture, as sport used to be called, because his verses resonate all over the world.

Who are we? Athletes compete, we cheer, I cheer. And I'm not alone! Slovenia is with me.

A few years ago, I was taken cyclingomania. Actually, that's what Guilty Primož Roglič, who is from neighbouring Zagorje. Traditionally, we in Trbovlje are not exactly best friends with our neighbours over the hill, but in this case it was okay if I cheered for him. In this case, we are all from Zasavje. Roglič is making incredible, historic, ground-breaking achievements. And he is experiencing falls; severe, literal ones. While any of fuzbaler played the suffering of rolling on the grass superbly - at least for an Oscar - he was skinless, with a dislocated shoulder and a broken vertebra, sitting back on his bike and riding until he couldn't go on anymore. When he wins, my neighbours and their ears suffer, when he falls, I cry and suffer with him; more quietly.

At the time of the ascent our Rogle we have found like-minded people on social networks who mark every turn of the pedals by sharing posts, photos and comments. Those of us who also comment and with every turn of the pedals we become more knowledgeable about the tactics of the teams, the mistakes and the form of the opponents and our Primož. At some point we decided to go all out cyclingwhich sometimes really borders on the circus, to see it live. Yes, you can see everything and more in person that they don't show on TV. You also see the emotions, the atmosphere, the marketing, and bread and games.

First it was the final of the Verona cycling race, then the World Championships in Imola, Italy. The Slovenian green ribbon is always somewhere in between. And one of the national championships. And then came the main decision; the legendary, indescribable, strangely attractive and generally superlative Tour de France. Because that's where our Primož rides.

Sibila and I have been doing these bike races together since day one. It's a small world. My partner's former classmate is now my invaluable friend. Later on, Natasha joined us, and in between, another girl of 50 years and more. A trio or quartet of women in their prime has become a complete team within a few years. Flags, T-shirts, props, transport by bus or plane, organised by an agency or completely self-organised. Let's go, proud Slovenian fans!

This will be the fourth year we will be going to the Tour de France. Last year's Nice was something special; we Slovenians were a world power on the Cote d'Azur, or the true azure blue coast. In cycling and fan terms. But as they say, when you first go to the Savoy Alps, you realise that during the royal stages of the Tour, they could easily have been renamed the Slovenian Alps. There we shed tears at Primož's fall and resignation, and we also cheered for all our other gladiators on bikes, who really deserve a deep bow, thunderous applause and a roaring cheer as they tackle these hills. The number of number plates of our little country is equal to, if not more than, that of the other superpowers.

Well, it's not quite that they were only Slovenian, because the endless serpentines of Tignes, the Alpes d'Huez, the Col du Granion and the Col du Galibier are crowded with caravans, amateur cyclists, buses, cars, vans and pedestrians. We are all, above all, crazy fans who have come from almost all over the world. We follow the cyclists like the Holy Grail, regardless of language barriers, skin colour, body mass index or age. Patiently and following the instructions of the organisers and the friendly policemen. There is no mess, no unsporting remarks or even whistling when representatives of the other team or country pass by. We all cheer for everyone. How inspiring. I have never experienced that in any other sport. Usually at matches, the fans of the countries competing in that sport gather, but in indoor team sports, it's us against you, and in between buuuu and Whistlewhen the opponent wins.

And the cycling routes are lined with crowds of millions, with an average distance per stage of 150-200 kilometres. Two days before the decisive day of the Royal Stage, as we climbed the serpentines of the Alpes d'Huez by bus, we could see groups of campers camped with their flags at every bend. So we passed the Danish, Norwegian and Belgian corner with a large number of beer cans, the Italian flags, the German corner, the Austrians, the Dutch, the Poles, the Czechs, the Australians, the New Zealanders, the Colombians with loud music, to the Ecuadorian, Argentinian, Canadian and American flags. The French, like the locals more for in between. Passers-by greeting each other enthusiastically, loud music, toasts, shouts, the smell of barbecue. We are all friends, as Prešeren would say, above 2000 metres above sea level. I have found that united nations do not reside in a palace in New York, but are present at bicycle races with all the mutual sympathy, acceptance of difference, sincere handshakes, pats on the back and sincere congratulations to stage winners. 

But the main two bends were ours, Slovenian. One was more Roglič's, who unfortunately lost the first time and fell and retired the second and third time, and the other was more Pogačar's, who is becoming a world star. Funny how we like to divide ourselves. And there are as many Slovenian flags as we can see only in our home town of Planica. But that was in France. Not just around the next bend.

With this story I wanted to tell you that Slovenians - divided into two groups - shared water, beer and something stronger on the two-thousanders of the French Alps to help us withstand the intense heat on the Alpes d'Huez and the rain and cold on the Tignes. We also shared snacks, memories, opinions, crazy costumes and fan gear, and new friendships were forged among the amazing Slovenian cycling enthusiasts who were very united amongst each other. We were proud that our guys are the top of the world, that we have two of the best cyclists in the world and some great assistants who can win a stage.

If anything, I would like to see an inclusive, encouraging, enthusiastic and, at the end of the day, a proud Slovenia when any of us wins. The spirit of sport should not be in the body alone, but above all in the spirit. And the Slovenian spirit is, in Prešeren's terms, cosmopolitan, broad, open and proud.

Katja Mikula, 7. 3. 2025