photo of Jure Robič after winning the 2007 RAAM by Kayvz from Wikipedia english
The niche sport of ultra cycling has lost an icon, and tragically the Robič family has lost a second son in the same year.
Reports came out over the weekend that Jure Robič was killed when he collided head-on with a vehicle while on a training ride near his home in Slovenia.
My only experience of cycling in Slovenia was this summer on our company’s Amber Route cycling expedition. We found the back roads, like those Jure died on, to be lightly trafficked, and beautiful. Slovenian drivers seemed, for the most part, to be accepting of cyclists and a little less aggressive then their neighbours in Italy. From the limited information that has come out so far, it seems as though it was simply tragic timing that Robič and the driver met at the bend in the road as they did.
Flickr photo by ts32raam
Jure is best known in North America as the 5-time champion of the grueling Race Across America – a non-stop race where top athlete’s sleep sometimes as little as one hour a day as they cycle day and night across the USA.
As part of the crew for a two-man team in 2007 I never had the pleasure to meet Jure Robič. But even then, he was the man to talk about at RAAM. A legend in the sport before I had even heard his name. He was the symbol of a sport that very few people even knew existed.
But the double tragedy of the passing of Jure was that on August 7 of this year his brother Sašo Robič also died. Sašo, a ski coach and accomplished alpine skier, reportedly jumped to his death from the Peračica viaduct also in Slovenia.
It is a great loss to their family and to the unique world of ultra athletics, and to Slovenia’s sporting world. Jure Robič and Sašo Robič will be missed by many.
Below, I have put a few links to the stories that I have come across regarding these events.
That Which Doesnt Kill Me Makes Me Stranger – A 2006 profile of Jure Robič by New York Times reporter Daniel Coyle
24ur News Site - Slovenian news story on Jure Robič death. You can see by the number of comments (876 at time of writing), that he was certainly a well known sportsman in Slovenia. (or read the poorly translated Google vers.)
RAAM Winner Jure Robic Dies in Traffic Accident – Velo News
Jure Robic killed in Road Accident – Bike Radar
Ultracyclist Jure Robic Dies in Collision with Car – Outside Magazine blog
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