‘It would be my main motivation for next season’: Govekar on a Slovenian Giro start and Pogacar’s choice

Matevž Govekar has said a Giro d’Italia start that crosses into Slovenia would be his main objective for 2027, and believes the prospect could also tempt his compatriot Tadej Pogačar back to the race.

The 2027 Giro is expected to start in Trieste on Saturday, May 8, with the opening stage reported to include a loop into Slovenia. The full route was presented in Rome on Tuesday. Govekar, who spoke on the Domestique Hotseat before the presentation, said the reports had already caught his attention.

“Two years ago there was a stage that finished in Gorica, and there was a really nice atmosphere. There were so many Slovenians,” Govekar said, referring to the 2025 Giro’s stage into Nova Gorica and Gorizia on the border. “When I heard that the Giro could start in Slovenia, I would really like that. If this happens, it would be the main motivational point for me next season.”

Govekar has just finished a difficult year without a win, but one that included racing the European Championships on home roads in Slovenia in October. He described that weekend as a sign of what Slovenian cycling deserves, citing the success of Pogačar and Primož Roglič.

“Slovenians are enjoying the golden era of our cycling at the moment,” he said. “To host an event like this in Slovenia, I hope it was not the last one. These guys deserve an even bigger event.”

Whether Pogačar will be on the start line in Trieste is another matter. The four-time Tour de France winner has named the Tour, the World Championships and the Vuelta a España as his main targets for 2027, though he admitted he would rather ride the Giro. His agent, Alex Carera, said last week that a return to the Vuelta was more likely, with a final decision due at UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s training camp in December.

Govekar did not want to predict which way his compatriot would go. “I really don’t have a feeling,” he said. “For sure this could be very attractive for him. But it’s all about what he really feels, the hunger for it. Why not?”

He did point to a story Pogačar told at Luka Mezgec’s retirement party, held as a surprise after the Slovenian sprinter’s final race at the European Championships. As a teenager, Pogačar had gone to watch the final stage of the 2014 Giro in Trieste, where Mezgec won.

“Tadej was saying that this was one of his best memories of Luka, and at that moment he just wanted to experience something like this,” Govekar said. “In the end this could for sure attract him. The Giro starts in Slovenia.”

Pogačar won the Giro in rampant fashion on his only appearance in 2024, taking six stages and the overall by almost ten minutes.

Watch the full Hotseat epsiode with Matevž Govekar 👇