Slovenia Champions Ride

Into the Alps: Today you leave the city and head north to the beautiful Kamnik Alps, stretching from Slovenia right the way to Austria. The soaring peaks of Grintovec (2558m) and Storzic (2132m) will dominate your view as you cycle first to the historic little town of Kamnik. Visit the two ruined castles here and have a coffee in the old town. From here you’ll continue on deep into the heart of the Kamnik Alps and into the exquisite Logar Valley (Logarska Dolina), a peaceful alpine glacial valley where you’ll spend the night.

Over the hills and far away: Leaving the tranquillity of the Logar Valley, you will cycle off to a fairytale lake via the Pavlic Pass. Along the way, you’ll visit the lovely alpine lake at Jezersko and the equally beautiful artificial lake at Preddvor, both blessed with beautiful backdrops. Either is a good choice for lunch. The day will end at the pearl of Slovenia’s northern region, Lake Bled.

Lake Bled, with its beautiful church sitting on an island in the middle of the lake and guarded by a medieval hilltop castle, is the stuff of fairy tales. Start or end your day here with a boat ride to the island and a ride up to the castle for a panoramic view of the lake and glacial valley. Your cycling day will take you to the old village of Kropa, where you can visit the iron forging museum dedicated to the town's blacksmith trade, and the iron-smelting town of Zelezniki. You’ll weave your way back to Bled through forests, along rivers and, time permitting, you can also stop by the beautiful Vintgar Gorge.

Leaving Bled, you will cycle first to the little village of Begunje, famous for being the birthplace of Slovenia’s folk music legend: Slavko Avsenik. As well as the Avsenik restaurant and museum, you can also visit Kamen Castle and the well preserved Robacnek Mill. Here you will leave Slovenia temporarily and head into Austria via the centuries-old Ljubel Pass, running close to Mount Stol (the highest peak in the Karavanke Alps), and then loop around back into Slovenia via the Koren Pass. Podkoren is located close to the lovely alpine town of Kranjska Gora, a great place to spend the evening.

Today you will ride from the Slovenian Alps to the Italian Alps. You’ll cross the border and head to Tarviso. Encircled by the Julian, Karavanke and Canal Alps, Tarviso is the perfect place to take a rest, sip a cappuccino and soak up the sunny views before tackling the amazing Predel Pass, running between Mt Mangart and Mt Kanin. On the other side, you’ll glide back down into Slovenia via the glistening emerald Soca Valley through the villages of Kobarid and Tolmin.

Your route today will eventually take you back to the Slovene capital. Get up early enough and you can visit the Tolmin Gorge, the lowest and southernmost entry point into Triglav National Park. Visit the thermal springs under Devil’s Bridge. Your route to Ljubljana will take you through the Cerkno Hills, where you'll ride from the alpine region to the Dinaric Karst region of the southwest.

After breakfast your tour ends.