The former top model, who went blind in 2009, hasn't resigned himself to his fate. He has found new inspiration in paralympic sports. He failed to qualify for the swimming competition at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Kobilica then dedicated himself to the triathlon. He is now also seeking his opportunity in cycling. The native of Ljubljana, who is also the founder of the Vidim cilj (I See the Goal) center and the co-founder of the Proorganika company, has chosen Tadej Valjavec, a former top cyclist, as his cycling partner. Valjavec has accepted the challenge. Last week they took part in a World Cup Para-cycling race. The two arrived at the conclusion that they needed more practice in order to achieve top results and qualify for the next Paralympic Games.

What is most essential in this kind of teamwork? "Not to miss the moment when the best start attacking. Tadej gave me the sign to start pedalling fast, but if you miss that little part of a second, the group can break away. You then have to really give your maximum to catch up with the group again. We had to chase the leading group three or four times that way in the race. And when we caught up with the group, I was still pedalling at maximum power, as I had no idea that we already caught up with them. So we wasted energy twice," said Kobilica.

Tomaž Okorn; translated by K. J.