Slovenian cycling star Tadej Pogačar spent hours on 23 August signing autographs and taking selfies with fans as he raised funds for those affected by massive floods in early August.

"I'm rarely in Slovenia, which is why I decided to meet my fans in the hope that we raise a lot of money together for the victims of catastrophic floods," he said.

"I hope we collect a lot of autographs, my hand is trained for today's event," the 24-year old member of UAE Team Emirates said.

Pogačar made an initial donation of €10,000 and added 10 euros for each autographs and selfie.

Almost 5,000 people showed up and there were long queues on Congress Square as eager fans young and old waited to meet the star.

"It has to end at some point, but if we can't do everything in two hours we'll have to think of something, maybe a group photo," he said at the start of the event.

The event ended up raising €30,000 for flood victims alongside his initial pledge.

Pogačar is not the only professional cyclist to donate to flood relief.

Matej Mohorič, who recently won the Tour of Poland, has donated the entire prize money, more than EUR 24,000, for flood relief.

And the two have been joined by Primož Roglič, Luka Mezgec, Jan Tratnik, Domen Novak and Matevž Govekar in launching an online auction of signed jerseys, which is ongoing.

"This is the first time cyclists have come together this way and decided to help those affected by the floods. We want to show Slovenia that Slovenian cycling is united and compassionate with all victims of this natural disaster," Pogačar said.