This year there will be 13 Slovenes competing amongst the world elite, which is the most so far.

Already active this week were Marko Kump and Jani Brajkovič, who is making a return to the highest level of competition.

The winter break without any competitions, which lasted almost three months, was extremely active. Especially if one takes a look at the two teams where two-thirds of the top Slovene cyclists, which have managed to make it among the cycling elite, earn their money.

A newly formed team from a small country in the Persian Gulf – Bahrain - has opened the door to Slovenian cyclists. Most responsible for the open door and warm welcome to Slovenia's cyclists was the former sports director of Novo Mesto's Adria Mobil club, Milan Eržen, who received assurances from the Crown Prince of Bahrain, otherwise a devoted triathlon fan, the he would financially support cycling at the highest level for a couple of seasons.

Bahrain is perhaps the team which the cycling world expects to cause the most surprises in its first year among the elite. The team's number one cyclist will be Italian Vincenzo Nibali. Regardless of the fact that he changed his team, Nibali is looking to win the jubilee Giro d'Italia race, which will mark its 100th anniversary in May. And there is no lack of racers which would like to see their names on the winning prize of the Italian jubilee race. On top of it all, the 2017 Giro d'Italia starts in Sicily, the birthplace of the "shark", as Nibali is referred to in the cycling world. He is also one of the rare cyclists in the world to have succeeded in winning the three Grand Tour races in his career.

Many among us do not dare go that far and compare Bahrain's team to a Slovenian team. Apart from the six cyclists there is also a number of Slovenian team staff members in the Bahrain team. And to remind you all once again, the head coach of the Arabian team is still the head coach of Slovenia's national team, Gorazd Štangelj. However, in the coming weeks he will surely leave the position of head coach in Slovenia, as it will be almost impossible to perform the two tasks simultaneously.

Staying on the Arabian Peninsula, three more cyclists who were dependant on Chinese capital at the end of last season will now be receiving their paychecks from Arabia. The United Arab Emirates have taken under their wing the last pride of Italy's team cycling sport, Lampre. Whether the venture will be short-lived or develop into something even bigger, we will have to wait and see. However, we can be happy for Slovenia's trio Polanc, Mohorič and Kump, which have not been left without an employee in the most awkward part of the season. But the fact that Italy has been left without its own team at the highest level of competition, on the anniversary of its pride race, must hurt. Our western neighbours now have to face the harsh reality. In the last couple of seasons many races in Italy were also cancelled, like the one in Longera above Trieste, which, at the beginning of March, usually marked the start of the cycling season for Slovenia's clubs.

In Slovenia the Izola race is still on the cycling calendar. The old-new president of the Slovenian Cycling Federation, Tomaž Grm, has received the support of Slovenia's clubs. The biggest challenge will be deciding the fate of the Novo Mesto cycling club, as the French have taken over the club's main sponsor. And at the end we must not overlook the only Slovenian team which is capable of influencing the top world rankings. The female cyclists of BTC Ljubljana missed out the Australian Tour Down Under race, and so the real challenges for them begin on the first Saturday of March on the dusty roads of Tuscany.

Dare Rupar, Val 202; translated by K. J.