GIRO D’ITALIA, 2001 AND 2004

As the predecessor of SI Events, the company SI SPORT organized the hosting of the famous Italian grand tour – Giro d’Italia in 2001 and 2004; it had already been hosted by Slovenia back in 1971 and 1994. In 2001 the finish of stage 10 was on Celovška cesta road in Ljubljana; a record-breaking crowd of 100,000 people gathered along the route leading to Ljubljana and along its streets, also across the Triple Bridge (Tromostovje). The next day, the cyclists started from Bled, after which they rode three more laps between Nova Gorica and Gorizia, thus symbolically connecting both towns prior to Slovenia’s entry into the EU and the Schengen Area.

In 2004 the cyclists rode across the Črni Kal viaduct for the first time, i.e., before it was officially opened. This viaduct was the greatest achievement of Slovenian construction at the time, not to mention the location of the intermediate sprint. The following day they gained new points for the Slovenian Grand Prix with intermediate sprints in Sečovlje and Portorož.