Matevz Govekar is one of the rising Slovenian riders trying to break into the elite. I come from a country where runners of the likes of Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Rogli have shone in recent yearsc, along with other senior cyclists like Matej Mohoric, 23-year-old Govekar is “growing up” in the ranks of Bahrain. It’s his second season with the team, the first complete, since last year it was added in the summer. And it started off great, with a stage win at the Vuelta a Burgos, the only success he’s had so far. He starts a three-week race at La Vuelta with the idea of learning Gain experience and help his teammates, especially those who want to fight for the top positions like Santiago Buitrago. The Colombian fell on stage four, just 4km from the finish in Tarragona, and suffered a minor concussion.
At his side, Govekar stopped immediately, wrapping his leader around and supporting him at all times. A fact that helped the Colombian get the Solidarity Jersey (www.maillotsolidario.org), a project by La Vuelta, Bicicletas sin Fronteras and AS to increase the number and improvement of bicycles in Senegal so that children and young people can go to educational centers this way. He accepted the award at the beginning of Morella. He signed the copy and thanked him for this recognition: “This jersey is a good example of really doing my job, which was expected of me. After all, it’s a nice gift, I’m happy but unfortunately for Santiago, he was involved in the accident. I waited with him for him to reach the finish line as soon as possible.”
