Giro Rosa, the toughest and most demanding cycling trial on the women’s calendar of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is coming to Slovenia next year. After the successfully concluded Amateur Road World Championship, the organizers of ARWC and the Marathon Franja BTC City – the cycling club KD Rog with the support of the BTC Company, the City Municipality of Ljubljana and the Slovenian Cycling Federation – got the green light for the organisation of the opening stage of women’s Giro in Slovenia.
Giro Rosa will start with a prologue on 3rd July 2015 in Ljubljana at the Kongresni trg square, followed by the race’s first stage with a finish in BTC City Ljubljana. Jože Mermal, president of the Honorary committee of UWCT Final 2014, president of the Organizing committee of the Marathon Franja BTC City, patron to the women’s cycling team BTC City Ljubljana and president of the BTC Management Board is proud to see Ljubljana and BTC City becoming the centre of women’s professional cycling world for a day: “The Slovenian professional cycling story has exceeded all expectations. At the start of this year’s cycling season we only started paving the way for women’s cycling in Slovenia, while now, only a year later, we have been trusted with the organisation of the premiere stage of the most prestigious race in women’s cycling. This could not be possible without our professional women cyclists, who have in the last year for the first time started racing as a team, and received recognition and invitations to races on the world stage, where they achieved great results. Nevertheless, we cannot say that the organisation of such an important event was just given to us on a platter, since this recognition is a result of years of hard work, effort and commitment to this beautiful sport. Without the Marathon Franja BTC City, which lives up to its reputation each year, and which has over the years become internationally recognized, we probably would not have a woman’s professional cycling team nor the UWCT 2014 Final taking place on the streets of Ljubljana, and of course also not the Giro Rosa race on Slovenian soil. Such attention-grabbing events lead to great international recognition of Slovenia on the European level as well as on a world scale, and contribute greatly to the development of tourism and the popularity of this beautiful sport also on a recreational level.”
The cyclists were greeted by encouraging words of Zoran Janković, mayor of the City Municipality of Ljubljana: “I am proud to see the enthusiasm for cycling spreading across Ljubljana over the last few years, and I am not only thinking of recreational or professional cycling, but even more so about citizens using the bicycle to run everyday errands as a sustainable way of city mobility. Such habits of mobility contribute to a greater quality of living in the Slovenian capital, as determined by international expert committees, which have in this year awarded Ljubljana the prestigious title Green capital of Europe 2016 and also the European Week of Mobility 2013 award for all the “green” efforts of our city, among which we also include cycling. It pleases me to see cyclists starting their Giro Rosa race at one of the most beautiful squares in Ljubljana. I am sure that they will show us all what one can do with a lot of determination and perseverance.”
The 10-day women’s cycling race, first organized in 1988, is known as the most prestigious multi-stage race in Italy. This year Giro Rosa was for the first time in its history attended also by the cyclists of the first Slovene women’s professional cycling team – BTC City Ljubljana, which was invited to take part after 3 years of sending in official submissions. At the race, which is attended only by the invited 18 best cycling teams, our girls placed among the cream of the crop of women’s professional cycling on a world scale.
As a pilot project, Giro Rosa will be included in the project of systematic approach of determining the standards for candidature, organizing, realisation and of evaluating the effects of bigger international sports events in regards to the national interest.
Additional information
Maja Oven, Director of the Market Communications and Public Relations Sector
- T: 00386 (0)1 585 13 15
- E: maja.oven@btc.si
