Slovenian federation re-directs blame for Urska Zigart's Olympic non-selection at national coaches: "It is their responsibility to choose the best"

We'll have to wait for a bit to know the exact Slovenian lineup for Paris Olympic Games, but if you look at the number of Slovenian professionals in the peloton - it's not difficult to guess. Right? Well, apparently the national coach knows something nobody else seems to know as he opted to not include the time trial and road champion Urska Zigart for the women's races. Meanwhile in men's part, all clues seem to be leading to an expected roster of Tadej Pogacar, Primoz Roglic, Jan Tratnik and Matej Mohoric.

Zigart already expected her huge disappointment with the non-selection. However the Slovenian federation makes an attempt to escape any accountability in a published statement: "Management or the Presidency of the Cycling Federation of Slovenia and the Olympic Committee of Slovenia have no influence on the selection of the national teams that will represent Slovenia at the Olympic Games in Paris. The selection of national team competitors is the sole responsibility of the selectors, but it is their responsibility to choose the best."

"For men, we have a maximum quota of four competitors for the road race and one competitor for the time trial, who must then be one of the four participants in the road race. For women, we have a quota of two competitors, both in the road race and the time trial."

As all Slovenians who are considered to be selected are currently competing at Tour de France where anything can happen, the men's national team will be only confirmed after the end of the Tour. This corresponds with the information from Roglic's end of the wire who is yet to make a decision about representing after the Grande Boucle concludes. However it is already clear neither Pogacar nor Roglic will compete in the time trial, which will be likely contested by Tratnik.

"The women's team, unlike the men's, will not be the most numerous in Paris and the expectations regarding the result are unfortunately lower. The framework of the Slovenian national team consists in principle of only four cyclists: Eugenija Bujak, Špela Kern, Urša Pintar and Urška Žigart, who is currently racing the Giro d'Italia Donne. Of these, only two will be able to perform at the Olympics. At the Cycling Association, we certainly want our current best female athletes to represent Slovenia at the Olympic Games, but the final decision rests with the selectors."

However in a communique posted by Zigart's agent Alex Carrera on Tuesday, the Italian makes it clear that the Slovenian coach doesn't count on the double national champion Zigart for the upcoming Olympic Games - a decision that is not easy to accept for the 27-year-old Slovenian.