THE BIG RIDE

CrownWORDS JOHN WHITNEY PHOTOGRAPHY MAX BURGESS Jules Journey to Slovenia’s Julian Alps and you’ll be rewarded with some of the finest mountain roads in Europe

oin, tell me, what are to any of the previous climbs we’d your needs?” enquired ridden, the towering Mangart, its Klemen. Sweat pouring head in the clouds of an increasingly down his pained face, and brooding late afternoon sky, does breathing heavy, Eoin’s likewise, crashing through the reply is quick and to the 2000m mark and adding another point, if a little beyond 72 for good measure. Klemen’s capabilities. At the point where Eoin had made “A helicopter and his tongue-in-cheek call for aerial a hospital.” assistance we’d been climbing for Klemen is Klemen Cepirlo, our 15km from Bovec, our base for the Edriver, mechanic, soigneur and local week and where we’d passed sage all rolled into one compact through again on our way to the Slovenian package. Eoin is Eoin Mangart. But the 11.7km up to the McCoy, an Irishman living in Mangart Saddle, as it’s known, had Poland’s Krakow for the past 18 yet to begin. Eoin’s needs – all our years and one of several guests needs – would become far greater today of cycling holiday outfit Podia before they subsided. – also based in Krakow – on this, its first ‘Roadventure’ trip to Slovenia’s Small and mighty Julian Alps. Small in stature, Slovenia still Eoin’s anguish is understandable. manages to packs a wallop. That’s We’re on the fourth and final day of particularly true of the Triglav an increasingly mountain-packed National Park, with its eponymous trip to the northwestern corner of mountain standing at 2864m – this central European country and both Slovenia’s highest peak and Max Burgess, Podia’s founder, has that of the whole former Yugoslavia. conspired, Grand Tour-like, to Much of Triglav covers the backload the trip with Slovenia’s mountainous region known as biggest road challenge – its highest the Julian Alps, which span road, the Mangart. northeastern Italy and Slovenia, Previous days had seen us explore and named after Julius Caesar. the mountains and valleys of the In professional road cycling Triglav National Park and today, our terms Slovenia, a country of just final ride of the trip, had dialled up 2million people, punches well the altitude with passage over the above its weight. The current Vrši , a 1611m giant of the region men’s WorldTour is packed with that’s simultaneously both beauty Slovenians, including Primož Rogli and beast. If the Vrši Pass had (Team LottoNL–Jumbo) and Matej added another 400 vertical metres Mohori (Bahrain-Merida), and

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In all, the Vršič has 50 hairpins, every one of them numbered, Alpe d’Huez-like

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE Slovenia has some Distance: 57 miles/93km stunning scenery to ride through Grade: Difficult. What it lacks in distance it makes up for in altitude gain Download: www.mapmyride.com/routes/ his adopted home Poland and professional trips he now broader and the journey to view/2093806615 The Julian Alps don’t Slovakia. In August, he’ll further runs. It’s largely a two- Above the start was accompanied by explore the Carpathian Mountains, person band – his wife Eyes on the road! mass singalongs to the back GETTING THERE We flew to Venice Marco Polo get as much love as of which the Tatras make up a small Magda the logistical The descent of the catalogue of American rock- southern side of airport and from there it’s a part. The company also did its first lynchpin yin to his creative the Vrši is pop heroes Toto. Maciej two-and-a-half hour drive to neighbouring Alps when it ‘Gravelventure’ in May, in the dreamer yang – though they a marvel belted out Rosanna in Bovec. Alternatively you could Beskid Mountains in the eastern recruit people for their trips, particular with gusto. fly into Slovenia’s capital comes to elite bike racing Ljubljana, though you’d be Carpathians. This is its third year of guys like Klemen, and ride This drive took us up a road faced with a similar car trips – and the first outside of guide Maciej Proficz, who as well that had become familiar. Around transfer to Bovec. Poland – expanding the company as being a top road racer also 15km from Bovec, we’d descended even further from what initially moonlights as the frontman in a down it on day two to finish the ride, WHERE TO STAY €1290 for four days riding We stayed at the Hotel Sanje (303km in total). With just six we spotted a flying UAE Team The Mangart remains untapped, started out as a blog. death metal band, Dormant Audio. driven up it on day three to get to the OB Soči (sanjeobsoci.com), to eight riders on each trip, Emirates-clad cyclist on one of our though that, says the race’s press Above left Max, 39, had a career in television start at Lake Bohinj and were due to on the outskirts of Bovec. your money includes airport morning car transfers. If it was a officer, is more because of the Smiles - and a and after aborting a switch to Car share end today coming down off the Facilities include a spa and transfers, accommodation, home-grown rider, it could only “logistical nightmare” of taking the few grimaces - at architecture, he developed Podia. To see the best of the Julian Alps and Mangart. Descending it is a blast, full breakfast, but it doesn’t offer breakfast and evening meals, the summit of the lunch or dinner. ride guides and full support have been Jan Polanc. race up such a high, isolated, dead- He became hooked on cycling not have 160km-plus days to tame, of new tarmac, steep slopes and Vřsič Pass vehicle, ride photography The Julian Alps don’t get as end road. It’s actually their dream to during his time at his first (and last) car transfers are a necessary evil, sinewy bends. FOOD AND DRINK and nutrition. much love as neighbouring Alps head up there. architecture job, to the point where and so it was that our 93km ride “I can’t wait to come down Bovec has many options for Brand new Genesis Volare in Italy, France and Switzerland What this means is that the it became a bit of a running joke began in Maciej’s van. Our base for this again,” exclaimed an excited food and drink, though the disc brake bikes are available when it comes to elite bike racing, region fits nicely into Podia’s with the receptionist when Rapha’s the week was the small ski resort Michał Tretyn, one of Podia’s best place we ate was just up for hire at an additional cost the road in the village of Log of €185 per trip. Air travel is even from the Tour of Slovenia. ‘Hidden Europe’ message – taking black envelopes would arrive on a town of Bovec, on the western edge paying punters. pod Mangartom, at the also separate to the cost, as is Though the country’s national race cyclists to the less-heralded but no near daily basis. of Triglav close to the Italian border, “You’re going to have to go up it Mangrt restaurant, on the the option to buy Podia kit. has climbed the Vrši Pass, it’s done less magnificent regions of Europe From blogging about his cycling and it would be an hour’s drive to first,” I offered back. right-hand side as you head The company will be back in so just once (2013) in the past that fly under the radar. Shortly adventures, the barrage of black another town, the larger Kranjska “Excuse me?” north through it. The burger is Slovenia next summer, but in highly recommended. the meantime you can get in decade, before that, in 2007, after making the mammoth 12- envelopes dried up when he started Gora, at the base of the Vrši , where “You have to go up it. This takes us touch at podia.cc to organise a young Vincenzo Nibali took hour drive back to Krakow, Max was designing and producing his own our ride would begin. up to the start of the Mangart, and PODIA a custom trip in central and one of the first wins of his prepping for a road trip through the kit. From there his love for travel Despite his musical pedigree, then we come back down it on the This Julian Alps trip costs Eastern Europe. career here. Tatra Mountains, which border both inevitably ended with the Maciej’s listening tastes are far way to the hotel,” I insisted.

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We’d got what we’d come for – a spectacular ride in one of Europe’s best-kept secrets

If it wasn’t for Toto, I reckon I’d restoration and renamed this Tour de France to Alpe d’Huez in Like Vrši , here’s another climb Our long charge to the summit have heard his heart sinking – it’s a Vršič, especially from the stretch the Russian Road. 1952. A frequent visitor to Slovenia, Top right built for war. This time it was the was abruptly cut short just before stinker of climb. Your suffering will be put firmly he was the owner of the Alpe’s Hotel The work is just Italian army, constructing it in 1938 it. Given the Mangart isn’t a pass, Kranjska Gora side, is one about to start In truth, the Vrši was little easier in perspective, but it’s only after Christina, now in the hands of his at the base of over six months as defence against local authorities weren’t in a hurry but where the climb to the Mangart is the chapel that the 9.25km Vrši daughter Christiane, who confirmed the Mangart the Yugoslav army. The final climb to clear the winter snowfall. Just a long slog up on an unremarkable of the finest stretches of gets its claws into you, and barring a her father brought the idea home of both the day and the trip is tough, as we were about to corner one of main road, the Vrši , especially from couple of flat sections it’s largely from one of his many Slovenian but shorn of this context, the the final bends, a head-height asphalt in Europe Above right the Kranjska Gora side, is – and this double digits from there to the hunting holidays. The early evening Mangart, climbing 980m in 12km, blockade of snow stopped us in might sound like a writer overplaying 1611m summit – the highest pass Lunch was taken at the foot of the clouds roll in on was objectively the biggest our tracks. their hand – one of the finest in Slovenia. Vrši in Trenta. In character with the the menacing challenge of the trip. Second to its Reluctantly turning around, we stretches of asphalt to be found If this side is the best to climb, the rest of my week with Podia, it was Mangart Wikipedia entry on Google is its were left to look back down this anywhere in Europe. Not that it is War One, the pass we know today is south, free of cobbles, is surely the late, long and leisurely, with pizza dangerousroads.org webpage, which spectacular mountain from the all asphalt. Each hairpin on this largely thanks to the work of over Above left best descent, with most of the eaten and beers sunk on the hadn’t escaped anybody’s attention. highest road in the country (well, northern side of the pass remains 10,000 Russian prisoners of war, A beer stop’s summer tourist traffic seemingly warmest, brightest day of the There’s nothing to be overly almost!). The poor weather cobbled and another reason why this under the watch of their Austrian treated with turning back for Kranjska Gora at week. One rider’s bike computer concerned about, just a few notes of promised at the start of the day had caution with many is the best side to climb – though captors. In the spring of 1916, two either the summit or the chapel, actually had a beer count metric, caution. It’s a dead-end road (the stayed away, but now, close to 7pm, more miles left each section is small and well- severe avalanches claimed over 300 to ride allowing us a largely free run at the showing how many beers he could summit – the saddle, a bell-shaped it was belatedly closing in, and fast. maintained, you don’t want to corner Russian lives and several Austrian 26 hairpins and 12km (8.1 per cent) drink to make up his calorie deficit. loop – overlooks Italy) so it’s not But we’d already got what we’d them in the wet. guards. The chapel at kilometre four into Trenta. It was wise he didn’t take up the used that often, which means come for – a spectacular ride in on the Kranjska Gora side was built a In all, the Vrši has 50 hairpins, computer’s invitation to sink eight debris, particularly early in the one of Europe’s best-kept secrets. The Russian Road year later by the prisoners in every one of them numbered, Alpe lagers, given it had gone 3pm, we’d summer, is often strewn across the The hard work was done and all As beautiful a sight as the pass is in memory of their fallen comrades d’Huez-like. But which came first? only covered 24km of 93km and had road. It’s very narrow and there are that remained was the long 2018, it forever carries a tragic and their own suffering. In 2006, 90 In his book Mountain Higher, cycling almost 2000m still to climb, the several poorly lit tunnels, that make descent back to our Bovec base. history. While a version of the pass years after its construction, the journalist Daniel Friebe tells the bulk of it in one continuous chunk for a weirdly sense-deprived riding Our needs? Every one of them, well had already existed before World Slovenian government paid for its story of Georges Rajon, who took the up the Mangart. experience if you don’t have lights. and truly satisfied.

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