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Slovenia's biggest cycling race Tour of Slovenia starts in the port town of Koper today, featuring 15 teams from Slovenia, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland and Spain.

17th annual race will be in four stages and will make a detour to the southern Austrian province of Carinthia and include an ascent to Krvavec, a popular ski resort north of Ljubljana with slopes of 1450-1971 metres above sea level.

The first stage will take the cyclists on a 173-kilometre ride from Koper to Medvode, just north-west of capital Ljubljana.

Second stage on Friday stage will run from Ljubljana to Villach in Austria.

The third stage is the 171-kilometre mountain stage between the lakeside resort of Bled and Krvavec on Saturday. Apart from the extremely tough ascent of Krvavec, the stage includes four other climbs. The winner is expected to be decided after this one.

The last stage between Brezice and Novo Mesto (157km) may change the standings in mountains classification or competition for the jerseys, but will probably not have an impact on the final outcome of the tour.

Source: Government Communication Office

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