CYCLISTS from Slovenia

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Slovene Cyclists of all time. This list of famous Slovene Cyclists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Slovene Cyclists.

1. Primož Roglič (b. 1989)

With an HPI of 49.22, Primož Roglič is the most famous Slovene Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 35 different languages on wikipedia.

Primož Roglič (Slovene pronunciation: [ˈpriːmɔʃ ˈɾoːglìːtʃ] ; born 29 October 1989) is a Slovenian professional racing cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam Bora–Hansgrohe. He started as a ski jumper and switched to cycling several years after an accident suffered at Planica.At the 2017 Tour de France, Roglič became the first Slovenian to win a stage. In September 2019, he won the Vuelta a España general classification, becoming the first Slovenian to win a Grand Tour competition. He has also finished on the final podium at the 2019 Giro d'Italia (third overall), and at the 2020 Tour de France (second overall), being the first Slovenian to wear the yellow jersey, before losing out to compatriot Tadej Pogačar. He won the 2020 Vuelta a España, defending his title from 2019. In 2021, he won an Olympic gold medal in the men's individual time trial. He then went on to win his third Vuelta in a row, becoming the third rider to do so. In 2023, he won the 106th edition of the Giro d'Italia, the first Slovenian rider to win a Giro.Between 2019 and 2021, Roglič spent a 75 weeks (former record) as the No. 1 ranked cyclist in the UCI Men's road racing world ranking, and has twice finished as the year-end No. 1.

2. Tadej Pogačar (b. 1998)

With an HPI of 45.55, Tadej Pogačar is the 2nd most famous Slovene Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 38 different languages.

Tadej Pogačar (Slovene pronunciation: [taˈdɛ́ːj pɔˈɡáːtʃaɾ] ; born 21 September 1998) is a Slovenian professional cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam UAE Team Emirates. He won the 2020 and 2021 editions of the Tour de France, winning three different jerseys during each Tour, a feat unseen in nearly four decades. Comfortable in time-trialing, one-day classic riding and grand-tour climbing, he has been compared to legendary all-round cyclists such as Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Fausto Coppi. In 2019, he became the youngest cyclist to win a UCI World Tour race with the Tour of California win at the age of 20. Later in the year, in his debut Grand Tour, Pogačar won three stages of the Vuelta a España en route to an overall third-place finish and the young rider title. In both his Tour de France debut and the following year, he won three stages and the race overall, as well as the mountains and young-rider classifications, becoming the only rider to win these three classifications simultaneously. He is the first Slovenian winner, and, at the age of 21, the second-youngest winner after Henri Cornet, who won in 1904 at the age of 19. He is the first road cyclist in history to break the 6,000-point barrier in UCI World Ranking. He is a three time National Time Trial champion (2019, 2020, 2023). He is the only rider who has worn the white jersey at the Tour de France 4 times overall and a record 75 days in total. He has won three different one-day Monuments five times (Tour of Flanders and Liège–Bastogne–Liège once and Giro di Lombardia three times), Paris-Nice once and Tirreno–Adriatico on two occasions. In 2021, he also made history when he became the first Tour de France winner to take an Olympic medal in the road race in the same year after he took bronze at the men's road race.He is the current men's UCI road racing world No.1. He has been No.1 for a record total number of weeks and record number of consecutive weeks. He finished the 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons as world No.1.

3. Matej Mohorič (b. 1994)

With an HPI of 38.25, Matej Mohorič is the 3rd most famous Slovene Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Matej Mohorič (born 19 October 1994) is a Slovenian professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Team Bahrain Victorious. Mohorič turned professional in 2014. He won the Slovenian National Road Race Championships in 2018 and 2021, and the UCI Gravel World Championships in 2023.

4. Tadej Valjavec (b. 1977)

With an HPI of 36.29, Tadej Valjavec is the 4th most famous Slovene Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Tadej Valjavec (born 13 April 1977 in Kranj) is a Slovenian former professional road bicycle racer, who last competed for the Sava team. He is well known as a good climber due to his rides on mountain stages in the Giro d'Italia. Although he has achieved relatively few professional wins in his career, he has consistently performed well in the Grand Tours, with three top ten and four further top 20 finishes.

5. Janez Brajkovič (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 36.14, Janez Brajkovič is the 5th most famous Slovene Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Janez "Jani" Brajkovič (born 18 December 1983) is a racing cyclist from Metlika, Slovenia, who most recently rode for UCI Continental team Adria Mobil. He was the world under-23 Time Trial champion in 2004. In 2018, while riding for the Adria Mobil team, Brajkovič was suspended after a positive anti-doping test. He was banned for just over a year, and once his suspension was complete, he rejoined the Adria Mobil team.

6. Simon Špilak (b. 1986)

With an HPI of 35.75, Simon Špilak is the 6th most famous Slovene Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Simon Špilak (born 23 June 1986) is a retired Slovenian professional road bicycle racer.

7. Borut Božič (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 35.16, Borut Božič is the 7th most famous Slovene Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Borut Božič (born 8 August 1980) is a Slovenian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2004 and 2018 for the Perutnina Ptuj, Team LPR, Cycle Collstrop, Vacansoleil–DCM, Astana, Cofidis and Bahrain–Merida teams. Considered a sprinter in the mold of Óscar Freire, Božič's career highlights include winning the 2007 Tour de Wallonie, victory in the first stage of the 2009 Tour de Pologne (plus two days in the leader's jersey), winning the sixth stage of the 2009 Vuelta a España, and winning stage five of the 2011 Tour de Suisse. Božič worked as a directeur sportif for the Bahrain–Merida team up to October 2019 but in that month was issued with a 2-year ban for his links to the doping ring uncovered by Operation Aderlass.

8. Gorazd Štangelj (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 35.15, Gorazd Štangelj is the 8th most famous Slovene Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Gorazd Štangelj (born 27 January 1973 in Novo Mesto) is a Slovenian former professional road bicycle racer, who raced as a professional between 1997 and 2011. He currently works as a directeur sportif for UCI WorldTeam Team Bahrain Victorious.

9. Jan Tratnik (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 34.48, Jan Tratnik is the 9th most famous Slovene Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Jan Tratnik (born 23 February 1990 in Ljubljana) is a Slovenian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Visma–Lease a Bike. Professional since 2009, he has notably won the 2024 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and a stage of the 2020 Giro d'Italia. Tratnik is also a four time Slovenian national time trial champion and a one-time national road race champion.

10. Grega Bole (b. 1985)

With an HPI of 33.23, Grega Bole is the 10th most famous Slovene Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Grega Bole (born 13 August 1985 in Jesenice, Yugoslavia) is a Slovenian professional road bicycle racer, who most recently rode for UCI WorldTeam Bahrain–McLaren. His biggest victory is the 2011 GP Ouest–France, where he launched a solo attack with 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to go. He held on as the field was closing in rapidly, with only Simon Gerrans who was second on the day being awarded the same time as Bole. In 2015, Bole was the victor of the first stage of the inaugural Tour of Croatia after negotiating a series of bends where two crashes occurred.