Plavški Rovt
Plavški Rovt () is a settlement in the Municipality of Jesenice in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hung ...
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
n
cyclist
Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...
and a soldier in the
Slovenian Army
The Slovenian Ground Force is the primary component of Slovenian Armed Forces.
History
The current Slovenian Armed Forces are descended from the Territorial Defense of the Republic of Slovenia (''Teritorialna Obramba Republike Slovenije''; ''T ...
. He became prominent for his multiple wins in the men's solo category of
Race Across America
The Race Across America, or RAAM, is an ultra-distance road cycling race held across the United States that started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race.
RAAM is one of the longest annual endurance events in the world. All entrants must prov ...
(RAAM). He died on in a head-on collision during training. He was descending on his bike on a narrow mountain
forest road
left, alt=Pathway through forest., Concrete pathway through deep forest in India.
Forest tracks or forest roads are roads or tracks intended to carry motorised vehicles or horse-drawn wagons being used mainly or exclusively for forestry purposes, ...
in
Plavški Rovt
Plavški Rovt () is a settlement in the Municipality of Jesenice in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hung ...
near
Jesenice
Jesenice (, ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru'', vol. 6: Kranjsko. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 144.) is the tenth-largest town in Slovenia, located in the traditional province of Upper C ...
in Slovenia and hit an oncoming car.
Robič won the
Race Across America
The Race Across America, or RAAM, is an ultra-distance road cycling race held across the United States that started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race.
RAAM is one of the longest annual endurance events in the world. All entrants must prov ...
(RAAM) 5 times (then a record in the men's solo category): in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010. He was in the second place at the final time station in 2009, but dropped out of the race in protest against what he found to be unfair time penalties awarded against him. For example, he received a time penalty for urinating in a non-designated place on the start day of the race, before the race even started. Robič swore never to enter RAAM again, but changed his mind and came back and won again in 2010.
On , Robič broke the world 24-hour road record by cycling non-stop. In 2005, he won Le Tour Direct, (7d 19h 40m) a race on a course derived from classic
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...
routes. Robič won the DOS-Ras Race Across Slovenia four times, the Tour Direct twice, and the Tortour in 2010.
Robič was renowned for pushing himself to extreme mental breakdown and hallucinations, sleeping less than 90 minutes per day during endurance races. He was laboratory-tested, and his abilities to produce power and to transport
oxygen
Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...
were found matching those of other top ultra-endurance champions worldwide. During the 2004 Race Across America, it was reported that he only slept for a total of eight hours during his eight-day, ride across the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
From 1988 to 1994, Robič was a member of the Slovenian National Cycling Team. During that time, he was also a Slovenian national road champion. In his career he won more than 100 races and was on the podium at least 150 times. He was also a winner of Maraton Franja, Juriš na Vršič.
In addition to achievements in races, Robič was the recipient of the Sportsman of the Year awards for special achievements, Slovenian of the year for special achievements, and awards for fair play and tolerance in sport.