At the Slovenian national championship, he crossed the finish line in second place, behind Damen Novak and in front of a certain Matej Mohoric. We are talking about Gal Glivar, a young athlete from the UAE Emirates Gen Z, I owe it to you UAE Emirates Pogačar and, in this case, his "older teammate," Novak. The twenty-two-year-old from Novo Mesto has thus placed himself among the greats. He took about twenty seconds off Novak, but put two seconds behind a champion like Mohoric.
Talking to us about him is Giacomo Notari, coach of the team UAE Emirates Gen Z, who follows him every day step by step.
So, Giacomo, who is this guy, this Glivar who does that trick in the Slovenian championship?
He's a boy in his final year of the Under-23 category, so he's not particularly young. But I think that in the era of these young talents, we get a bit carried away, and I don't know if it's always a good thing that they emerge so early. Everyone has their own maturation times and Gal is getting there now.
Clear…
First of all, let me say that aside from being an athlete, he's a very good guy: humble and polite. Even from a personality point of view he is a leader in some ways, He's also a leader for the others on the team, and it's not just his experience that makes him so. It's a question of charisma. He's smart in a group. He knows how to move well and sees the race.He's in the right place at the right time. He also clearly has a good engine.
So, what are its technical characteristics?
He's a good, explosive rouleur, I'd say. In fact, he did well in the Slovenian championship, partly because the route suited him. It works very well on 5'-7' climbs, as it is quite light. So it can do the attack action, as it can arrive by itself. For example to Giro Next Gen In the second stage he outsprinted Teutenberg, who is practically a sprinter, but certainly not one for long climbs.
In Slovenia, Roglic is a classic example. Not all young people get into serious cycling through classic road cycling, but there are some who did other sports. Does this also apply to Gal Glivar?
No, no… lHe grew up on bread and cycling. His father, Srecko, was a cyclist and also a sports director for Adria Mobil. (a historic Slovenian team, ed.) And perhaps that's also why he's so shrewd in competition. Perhaps he's more or less directly absorbed his father's instructions.
Second in the national championship: did you expect him to go so fast?
Partly yes. Let me explain: Gal came out well from the Giro Next GenHe was the beacon of a team in which he helped Torres, among other things, the previous discussion comes back. One of his qualities is knowing how to help others, finding the right wordsI was talking about the Giro Next, he did well, he ran in support and came out of it with good legs. Furthermore, the course was suitable for his characteristics also because in Slovenia, since there are not many, they group the elite with the under 23s, for this reason too the distance was not impossible, just over 150 kilometers.
But they award two jerseys, right?
Yes, one per category.
UAE Emirates e UAE Gen Z, did it ultimately run as one team?
More or less, yes. And in fact Glivar worked a lot for Novak. Also because at a certain point he was practically certain he'd won the under-21 title. But from there to beating people like Mohoric... it wasn't so obvious! By the way, he and Novak are also training partners, They live close by. And it was a getaway with friends.
Now what will be this boy's plans?
He runs tonight at the Città di Brescia, then he will do the Medio Brenta and then the Valle d'Aosta which is a bit hard for him… but it will still be important.
