Horner is a member of team Lampre of Italy, which is the strongest team on paper, as it also features Diego Ulissi, the 2011 winner of the Tour of Slovenia, and Jan Polanc, the best-placed Slovenian last year (2nd) and Slovenia's best cyclist at this year's Giro d'Italia.

"We are very strong on paper, but the competition is fierce as every team wants to win, so we are facing a lot of hard work. The plan is that the team works for me, because I'm the home competitor," Polanc told the press before the race.

The race, which will conclude on Sunday in the city of Novo mesto, will feature a total of 18 cycling teams, including top-level teams Lampre, Australia's Orica-GreenEDGE, Italy's Cannondale and Russia's Katusha.

Orica-GreenEDGE features last year's time trial winner Svein Tuft of Canada and Michael Matthews of Australia, an excellent stage cyclist, while Cannondale is counting on Slovenians Matej Mahorič and Kristijan Koren.

Two Slovenian teams will compete, with Adria Mobil fielding last year's Tour of Slovenia winner Radoslav Rogina of Croatia. The biggest hope in the ranks of Radenska will meanwhile be last year's national champion Luka Pibernik.

*Tour of Slovenia stages

Stage 1, Thursday: Ljubljana (8.8 km time trial)
Stage 2, Friday: Ribnica - Kočevje (160.7 km)
Stage 3, Saturday: Rogaška Slatina - Trije kralji (192 km)
Stage 4, Sunday: Škofja Loka - Novo mesto (153 km)