The Slovenian National Championships will take place on Sunday, June 21, with Primoš Roglic (Jumbo Visma) and Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) competing in the elite men's road race.

The event is currently the only national championship in Europe scheduled to be held on its original schedule following the interruption of the cycling season due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

When the UCI released its revised calendar last month, the national championships were assigned to August 22-23, the weekend before the postponed Tour de France, but countries including Belgium and Italy have already announced championship dates at a later date.

Slovenia became the first country in Europe to declare the end of the COVID-19 domestic epidemic in mid-May and began lifting blockade restrictions. The Slovenian Cycling Federation (KZS) confirmed that the men's and women's elite and under-23 national championships will be held in Cerklje na Gorenjskem with an uphill finish in Ambrož pod Krvavec.

"We rushed the national championships a bit because the best riders are still at home this time of year," former professional rider and federation vice president Martin Hvastija said on the KZS website (opens in new tab).

"Of course, there were concerns about the riders' form, but during this time everyone is preparing for the crowded period immediately following, including high altitude training and the start of the season in August.

This competition marks the resumption of competition in Slovenia. The Tour of Slovenia was scheduled to take place from June 10-16, but the 2020 event was canceled in March due to a coronavirus pandemic.

The race distance is short, 146 km for the men and 68 km for the women, but the course is challenging, circling the village of Cerkurje na Gorencekhem before finishing in Ambrosh Pod Krvavec, which is over 1,000 m above sea level.

The Slovenian Federation's website lists Roglic and Pogachar as expected participants, but neither has yet confirmed their race program for the Tour de France, scheduled to begin on August 29 in Nice. At last year's Vuelta a España, Roglic was first and Pogachar third.

Pogachar, speaking to Cycling News last week, will train at high altitude in Sestriere in July, then resume competition at the Strade Bianche on August 1, ride Milan-San Remo or Il Lombardia, and then participate in the Criterium du Dauphiné He suggested that he would be able to compete in the Criterium du Dauphiné.

Roglic will participate in a high-altitude training camp in July, then ride the Tour de l'Ain and the Dauphiné.