Vipava Valley K.O.M.

Predmeja Climb Cycling Challenge

The ascent to Predmeja is considered one of the most difficult and picturesque cycling climbs in Slovenia. 9 kilometers of steepness with an average gradient of 8% classifies it as a Category 1 climb by difficulty. The climb has been included several times in the Tour of Slovenia, where Tadej Pogačar set the best time in 2019 (26 minutes 15 seconds), who also won the general classification that year. How fast can you complete the ascent to Predmeja?”

Get ready for the challenge!

Everyone who heads to Predmeja via the Vipava Valley K.O.M. route can also participate in our prize game! At the end of the cycling season, we will award prizes from the project’s supporters to the fastest female cyclist and the fastest male cyclist on the Predmeja climb (this segment on the STRAVA platform will be used). All participants will be included in a draw for practical prizes from the partners of the Vipava Valley K.O.M. project.

How to sign up?

1. Visit this link to enter your climb details and contact info.
2. STRAVA users should join the Vipava Valley K.O.M. club.
3. Follow the FB group Vipava Valley K.O.M., share your impressions of the climb, and invite your FB friends to the challenge!

The challenge Vipava Valley K.O.M. – Ascent to Predmeja is open from January 1, 2026, to October 23, 2026. The challenge winners and prize recipients will be announced in the last week of October 2026 on this website and via email.

The general terms and conditions for participating in prize games apply.

Route recommendations

We recommend that you begin your cycling challenge in the village of Lokavec, where you can park your vehicle at the main project partner, Pizzeria Porka Eva. 

From here, we recommend either a longer warm-up loop on the route: Lokavec – Potoče – Branik (Ošterija Branik) – Vrtovče – Lokavec (35 km and 500 vertical meters) or a shorter option: Lokavec – Cesta – Ajdovščina – Gorenje – Lokavec (11 km and 150 vertical meters). 

You can find a proposal of all cycling routes in our Komoot collection:

The main challenge follows – the Ascent to Predmeja! The official STRAVA segment on which the organizer will check the achieved climb times in the category ‘fastest male and fastest female rider’ is Predmeja Official. This segment starts at Pizzeria Porka Eva and ends at the top of the climb—the intersection for Lokve / Otlica.

The climb itself is very steep in the initial kilometers, followed by a short descent, and immediately after that, a consistent ascent that winds through tunnels all the way to the top. Excellent drinking water is available next to the road immediately after the short descent and at the summit of the climb.

We suggest that after completing the climb, you visit the viewing point at the bronze statue ‘Matere Gorjanke’ (The Mountain Mother). Refreshments are available at Gostilna Krapež, just a little further along the path. Another option for refreshments is at Sinji Vrh (Penzion Sinji Vrh), where the exceptional view justifies the effort for the final extra climb! This is followed by the return to the main road and the easier part of the journey via Col, descending the switchbacks to Vrhpolje and continuing to Ajdovščina. There, we recommend visiting the old town center, stopping at the Rustjeva hiša hruha (Rustja’s House of Bread), and seeing the Roman fortress Castra before returning to the starting point in Lokavec.

Rental of Road Bikes and Electric Road Bikes

Would you like to ‘attack’ Predmeja, but don’t have a suitable bike? RockVelo offers rental of premium road and electric road bikes, which will make the ascent a real pleasure.

Project partners

Catering providers along the Vipavska dolina K.O.M. route:

• Picerija Porka Eva , Lokavec (prize for the fastest female rider)
• Penzion Sinji Vrh & Golden Ring (prize for the fastest male rider)
• Gostilna Krapež, Predmeja (Prize for the draw)
• Rustjeva hiša Kruha, Ajdovščina (Prize for the draw)
• Ošterija Branik (Prize for the draw)

The project was supported by the Municipality of Ajdovščina through the ‘Public tender for promoting innovative tourism products and services in 2025.

All participants in the Vipava Valley K.O.M. prize game agree to the general terms and conditions for participating in online prize games, which are published HERE.