Entry of strong Slovenian team upsets pre-Rás predictions

PRE-RACE predictions for the FBD Milk Rás have been thrown into disarray with the news that Slovenia have entered a strong team for the eight-day showpiece, which gets underway on Sunday week.

Directeur Sportif Srecko Glivar has put forward Team Perutnina PTUJ, one of the strongest professional teams in UCI Division 3. The team will be led by experienced 36-year-old Valter Bona, who has mixed it with the best over the years and he will be joined by Igor Kranjec, Mitja Mahori, Massimo Demarin and Miran Kelner, and while they may not be household names in Ireland it is certain there will be a lot heard of them over the coming weeks because they have all competed at the highest level on the European circuit.

For the past couple of weeks Ireland's David O'Loughlin has been writing himself into the list of potential winners highlighting his claims by winning the Lincoln Grand Prix.