ATTENTION! Changed route of this year's L'Etape Slovenia race
The routes of Sunday's L'Etape Slovenia Ride and Race have been changed due to the catastrophic floods
In less than two weeks - on the first weekend in September - hosted by the Municipality of Kranj and the Institute for Tourism and Culture of Kranj (Visit Kranj), more than a thousand recreational cyclists will participate on the second edition of the two-day recreational cycling festival L'Etape Slovenia by Tour de France.
To ensure the safety of the participants
In recent days, the organizers have put a lot of effort into keeping the routes of the Sunday races unchanged despite the catastrophic floods that affected a good part of Slovenia three weeks ago, but for the route of the shorter version was unfortunately not possible due to recontruction and the resulting impassability of some roads and bridges. Both the police and the local organizers agree that the first priority is the safety of all participants and that the event must not jeopardize the recontruction of the routes and facilities on the original route.
Therefore, with the agreement of all responsible services, we were finally forced to change the route of both versions of Sunday's recreational test. The route will thus lead "only" along the left part of original loop - following part of last year's longer route: from Kranj through Besnica with an ascent and a mountain finish at Jamnik, with a descent in Kropa and then towards Tržič, through Golnik, Bašelj and Srednja Bela, past the sprint zone at the Brdo Estate and with the finish line in Kranj.
In terms of the length, the participants of both routes will be on roughly the same level, but the amount of altitude meters is changed, and the route may be slightly more challenging.
A shorter route - the Ride
- Length 68km with a total of 1,078 m of ascent
- 3x refreshment stations on the route
- 1x KOM on the marked section through Podblica to Jamnik
- 1x sprint segment on the marked section near the estate Brdo towards Predoslje (unchanged)
- Shorter route - Garmin connect
Longer route - the Race: 2 laps of shorter route
- Length 136km with a total of 2,028 meters of ascent
- 6x refreshment stations on the route
- 2x KOM on the marked section through Podblica to Jamnik
- 2x sprint segment on the marked section near the estate Brdo towards Predoslje (unchanged)
- Longer route - Garmin connect
Start at 9.00 a.m. and km zero in Nemilje
The start of both Sunday races in Kranj will be at 9:00 a.m. on Koroška cesta opposite to Slovenski trg and will run in the opposite direction (not through the city center), but the cycling caravan will continue along Koroška cesta to the intersection on the ring road, followed by a descent and ride across bridge over the Sava to Besnica.
The goal of Sunday's races in Kranj remains unchanged, i.e. to reach Slovenski trg, while before that the point of dividing the participants into shorter and longer versions will be on Jelenov klanec before the finish line. Cyclists on the shorter / Ride/, 68 km long route will be directed to the right directly towards the finish line, while those for the longer version / Race/ will stick to the left side of the road and make another round, thus riding a total of 136km. Similar to last year, this year will also be possible to change the route selection during the race, so that participants can decide on the fly whether to take a shorter or longer route.
It will be 6 refreshment stations on the longer route, and kilometer zero will be located in the village of Nemilje, i.e. 13.3 kilometers after the start. The timetable for closing traffic on the route is planned at an average speed of 25 km/h. If the cyclists on one of the two versions of the route do not reach this speed, the stewards and the finishing vehicle will inform them of this, and they will have to follow road traffic regulations from then on.
To ensure the safety of the participants and to facilitate the safety of the event for other locals along the route, an average speed of 25 km/h is also a condition for cyclists on the longer version to be able to continue their journey to the second lap. If they do not reach this speed at the end of the first lap, they will be redirected to the finish of the shorter route.
During road closures, traffic will be relaxed for a maximum of 15 minutes. In accordance with the time course of the race, roads and intermediate junctions will be closed. All roads and junctions will be released for traffic as soon as the last cyclist passes the conflict point. Between the echelon of cyclists, traffic in the direction of the race will also be relaxed during the intermediate time.
We wish all participants a happy journey, and we ask all locals for their patience and understanding in the event of road closures, and at the same time we invite them to cheer for the cyclists along the course!
Saturday cycling L'Etape Slovenia
Registrations for the Sunday ride closed on August 20, 2023. It is still possible to register for the free Saturday rides in the spirit of the Tour de France, which remain open until places are filled.
You can find more information and registration by clicking on the link below:
>> children's cycling
>> family cycling.
Saturday free cycling is provided by Gorenjska banka, a strategic partner of L'Etape Slovenia by Tour de France.
