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The 726-km long race will start on Thursday, 8th June in Lendava and finish in Novo mesto, the cycling capital of Slovenia, on the following Sunday. The Adria Mobil Novo mesto cycling club, led by former cyclist Bogdan Fink, has been the organizer of the race since its inception. After a humble start in 1993 and a few early teething problems (the race was cancelled in 1997), the race has gradually built a solid reputation and steadily climbed the rankings ladder. Last year, the UCI (International Cycling Federation) upgraded the event to a category one race. Ironically, the top Slovenian cyclists used to be "too good" for the Tour of Slovenia because their teams (mainly based in Italy) opted for higher-ranked races. Besides Valjavec and Stangelj, Matej Mugerli, fresh from his stage win in the Tour of Cataluna, will be the third Slovenian international taking part, while Jani Brajkovic, a native of Novo mesto, will miss the race due to commitments with his Discovery Channel team. The trio will face tough competition from a phalanx of other professional Slovenian cyclists, who have either returned from abroad or are still waiting for their opportunity to go there. Valjavec Aiming For the Top Despite the numerical superiority, it is far from certain that a Slovenian will win the race. So far, it has only happened on six occasions and two former winners, Poland's Przemeyslaw Niemec and Timothy Jones of Zimbabwe, are also among the entrants. Altogether, 15 teams are expected to take part. Apart from the three Pro Tour teams, four Pro Continental teams, one Continental team, four domestic teams (Sava Kranj, Perutnina Ptuj, Adria Mobil Novo mesto and Radenska Ljubljana) and one national team have also entered. The race will lead the cyclists through all the regions of Slovenia as organizers also want to use it as a tool to promote Slovenia as a destination for those foreign and domestic tourists who are looking for an active holiday. One of the associated promotional activities will be a race for recreational cyclists from Trenta up to the Vrsic mountain pass (1611 m) only a few hours before the "real" race arrives. It should guarantee a sizeable crowd at the finish of the third stage, which will very likely decide the winner. The "tourist" aspect of the race is also reflected by the fact that Marjan Hribar, the director of the Directorate for Tourism, is also the president of the race's organizing committee. At 229 kilometres, the first stage of the race, which starts in Lendava in the east, is also the longest. It will be followed by two mountain stages, the first from Medvode to Sveta gora (above Nova Gorica) and the second from Nova Gorica to Vrsic, which is traditionally the most spectacular stage. "In short stage races, every stage can decide the winner," Valjavec commented. However, he hopes that this will not happen: "Personally, I like the climb to Sveta gora, where I twice won the national championships. Vrsic, on the other hand, is something special for every Slovenian cyclist. I have never won it and this will be another reason to give it my best. It is very likely that this stage will have a major bearing on the race but the last stage should not be discounted either. This year, the competition is going to be very tough indeed. I will be doing my utmost to win but I won't be too disappointed if I don't. Above all, I will be using the race as training for the Tour de France," Valjavec said. Those who want to see the cyclists at work can check out the details on the Internet page www.adria-mobil-cycling.com. Highlights of the day's racing will be show every evening on national TV.