Get to know the versatile 19-year-old, who is racing with the World Tour squad this week at the Tour de l’Ain.
Slovenia might be a small country with a population of just two million, but it has produced some of the finest riders seen this side of the century, Grand Tour winners, Monument victors and World Champions. This success has fostered a remarkable spirit of emulation within the country, inspiring many young riders to dream about one day becoming professionals and making a name for themselves.
Among these, we can find also Erazem Valjavec, which doesn’t come as a surprise, given the fact cycling runs through his family. The 19-year-old started the sport at the age of seven, and for the first couple of years he rode a mountain bike alongside his father, before getting his first road bike on the day he turned ten. Shortly thereafter, he joined KK Sava Kranj, a local cycling team, and has since recorded an important progress, rising through the ranks to the point he joined Soudal Quick-Step Devo ahead of 2025.
This season, his second in our feeder team, Erazem has impressed with the workload he put in, his consistency across various terrains and the results he racked up, from a pair of top ten placings in the Tour du Rwanda to a solid eighth overall at the Oberösterreich Rundfahrt. Ahead of this week’s Tour de l’Ain, where he’ll ride together with Soudal Quick-Step, we talked with him about his year so far, ambitions for the coming months and long-term goals.
A fun childhood
“I love cycling and I have a lot of nice and good memories from my first years on a bike. It was mostly all about having fun back then as we had an open track next to our club so we trained there, as it was safer for us and we could improve our control on the bike. I remember that every year in the summer we used to take a trip with our bikes from Kranj to Lake Bled and back. It was a 70km journey, during which we stopped for swimming and eating, and when I look back on those days, I can say they are some of my best memories. In the winter, I replaced cycling with cross country skiing together with my father in Pokljuka.
Later, when I became more interested in cycling, I began watching it on television more often. I remember the first guy I supported was Alejandro Valverde, and later, Peter Sagan. But, of course, when I think about turning pro, I have my father in mind, as I want to become as good as he was.”
A tough first year as a junior
“In my first year as an U19 rider, I suffered a bit because of the distance of the races, but in the second season things were already better. To be sincere, in that first year it was also about having fun and I wasn’t training as much as other riders, but seeing that I was still there with the others motivated me and gave me a lot of confidence. Things changed in the second season, when Soudal Quick-Step took me under their guidance. I went to training camps in the winter and began learning a lot. I felt better and better in the races, which culminated with my display the U19 Paris-Roubaix, which remains my best day ever on a bike so far.
I progressed as a junior, so at the beginning of 2025 I joined the Devo squad. It wasn’t my best season, as I suffered with sickness in the second part of the year and also had some knee problems, but this year I feel that everything has aligned perfectly. I can see that I’ve developed a lot physically and mentally, and could be there to help my teammates in some important races.”
I came to learn that we can get great results only if we race like one team, like a real Wolfpack.
“Competing together with the World Tour team also helped me a lot, it was a fantastic experienced to be together with the pros in Spain and in Coppi e Bartali and learn from them.
In terms of personal results, I must say that in last month’s Oberösterreich Rundfahrt I felt the best, it’s the race I’m most proud of, not only because I could be in the top ten, but also because I was able to help Henrique on a daily basis and he won the whole thing for the team.”
Big ambitions for the autumn (and the future)
“After a solid training camp, I can’t wait to resume my season at the Tour de l’Ain. I’m excited to race there, we have a strong team, and we start with a lot of confidence in our chances of getting some good results. I have a nice program for the remaining months, when my big goals will be the World Championships and the European ones, especially as the latter will be held close to my hometown. I can’t wait for that race!
At the moment, I still don’t know what races suit me, but I am confident I will find out where I can get the best results.”
I love the cobbles, but I think I am better built for climbs up to five kilometers in distance.
“My aim is to keep working also on longer climbs, as I have the belief that if I survive those, I can be quite fast in a finish from a reduced group at the end of a hard race.
We’ll see what I will be capable of doing after I turn pro, but I would love to become a good Classics rider and win races like De Ronde, Paris-Roubaix, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. These are the types of races that earn you a place in the history books.”
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
