The world cup season will start shortly, after more than a decade without Jure Žabjek at the start gates. Jure is not just the best male Slovenian downhiller of all times, he made a name for himself with European titles, top-10 results in the World Cup and countless fantastic results. He might not race at the highest level anymore, but his passion for cycling is still strong!
History of our team (Unior Tools Team, Unior-Devinci Factory Racing and now Unior-Sinter Factory Racing) is inseparably connected with racing career of Jure Žabjek, born & raised in Ljubljana, Slovenija. A place that is also a home for Cycling club Rajd and base for Unior-Sinter Factory Racing. Jure has joined the team at the start of the 2013 season, at the time as a junior. He got noticed at early years, at the youngest of the fast Žabjek brothers. It’s easy to say that everything from there one is history, but it really is. Jure continued the legacy of Nejc Rutar and Žiga Pandur, both pushing the levels of Slovenian downhill scene. Jure pushed it even further and became a respected rider on the world cup circuit. His influence among younger generations is immeasurable as many look up to him and dream of being as good. Some dream to be even better, which is going to be very hard.
Jure has tons of ups and downs in the eleven years on the world cup circuit. He took top-10 twice, in Leogang and in Lenzerheide. He won the European downhill title in 2015. He won number of iXS European Downhill Cup races and Slovenian races, including national champs. But for the real fans his best result might be the presence at the top of the world cup standings that lasted for years! Just take a look at his racing photos, so many will have plate number starting with digit 1 or 2. Jure was also one of the main riders in the Slovenian national team, he wore the national team jersey on countless World & European Championships. These are results that are going to be hard to beat by any of his successors. With less bad luck with the injuries, Jure could do even more. Much more!
Jure Žabjek: “Every journey has its end. I never thought that the sport that my brothers and I grew up playing would become a professional career. Travelling around the world, meeting new people, getting to know myself and competing at the highest level of racing has been a special experience.
I will never regret the path I have chosen. Each journey has brought me new challenges, insights and opportunities for personal growth. Thank you to everyone who has been part of this and helped me achieve these results, because even though you are alone on the course, there is always a team behind you and many people supporting you. Thank you all, we have achieved a lot together. All the effort was worth these moments. Despite the end of my career as a professional downhill racer, my passion for cycling is still strong. I will continue to test myself in smaller races and enjoy every moment on the bike.”
We at Unior-Sinter Factory Racing want to say THANK YOU JURE for all the hard work, commitment & passion that led to so many great results. It was a great run, and we’re sure that eventually the start number will be back on your bars, in one way or another!
Good luck Jure!
Photos by: Klemen Humar, Rick Schubert, Keith Valentine, Andy Vathis, Dave Trumpore, Anže Furlan, Ross Bell & Grega Stopar
