Hi all, here's a slightly different take on it, just to stoke some thoughts. I have no idea about the Slovenian situation and as I have pointed out, there's more at play wrt some teams that are as dodgy as you can get.
So, most folks know I live in Canada. Remember when Canada had a simply amazing, world beating group of MTB racers (some who also kicked ass on the road)? We were punching above our weight, at least when you think of world class cycling nations, and it was fantastic, right ........ And yes, there were arguments that while Canada was not a nation with the same volume of road racing, we had a strong MTB scene (which was and is true, but still).
Well, we eventually all learned more about what drove some of those performances. Some was perhaps better known locally, but not all. So while I am not saying this is directly comparable, there is evidence of other nations where all of a sudden, statistically speaking, it does not completely make sense.
Or, whatever