French cyclist Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) has taken his fourth stage win at this year’s CRO Race on the fifth stage from Karlovac to Sveta Nedelja at a length of 1,505 kilometres. Magnier confirmed his status as best sprinter of the week once again in Sveta Nedjelja, handily surpassing second-placed Portuguese rider Rui Oliveira (UAE Emirates) and third-placed Spaniard Pau Miquel (Kern Pharma). “This morning, I thought I wouldn’t ‘survive’ the climb, but my coach convinced me I had to at least try. My teammates motivated me on the climb and prepared a great situation for me for the sprint. Tomorrow I will try to win the sixth stage too, I hope the roads won’t be too slippery even though the forecast is for rain,” said Magnier. American Brandon McNulty (UAE Emirates) retains his lead in the general classification with a 1:39 gap ahead of Italian Edoardo Zambanini (Bahrain Victorious) in second and 1:49 ahead of Pole Michal Kwiatkowski (INEOS Grenadiers) in third. Magnier is well ahead in the running for the blue jersey points classification, while Dutchman Casper van der Woude (Metec-Solarwatt p/b Mantel) has taken the lead in the contest for the green jersey for best climber. As the first categorised climb was just 11.5 kilometres after the start, team Metec-Solarwatt p/b Mantel was determined to place Casper van der Woude in the break, which they managed to do. In addition to Van der Woude, the six-man breakaway included his teammate and countryman Axel van der Tuuk, Frenchman Swann Gloux (Arkea-B&B Hotels), Italian Samuel Bertolli (Solution Tech-Vini Fantini), Czech Martin Voltr (ATT Investments), and Pole Michał Żelazowski (Voster-ATS). Van der Woude took first place and three points towards the green jersey and is now tied with McNulty, while the remaining points went to Żelazowski and Van der Tuuk.
Finale in Zagreb on Sunday
The order was the same at the intermediate sprints in Ozalj and Karlovac—Żelazowski first, Voltr second, and Van der Tuuk third. The six-man breakaway’s gap topped out at three minutes and began to fall rapidly during the last sixty kilometres; in Kupinec just before the climb to Novo Selo Okićki, the breakaway split into two groups—Van der Woude and Van der Tuuk ramped up the tempo, and only Voltr was able to follow.
Expectedly, Van der Woude took the categorised climb at Novo Selo Okićki, thus taking the lead in the green jersey contest, with Voltr and Van der Tuuk following. The intermediate sprint in Jastrebarsko followed, with Voltr taking crossing the line first ahead of Van der Woude and Van der Tuuk. Despite starting the the climb to Plešivica with a two and a half minute gap, they didn’t manage to remain at the front of the race. Van der Woude was the first to be dropped, followed by Voltr; the peloton finaly reeled Van der Tuuk in 100 metres from the top. With INEOS Grenadiers leading the peloton, first across the line at Plešivica were American Magnus Sheffield, Pole Michal Kwiatkowski, and Brit Ben Turner. The speedy descent towards Samobor and sprint finish in Sveta Nedelja followed. Croatian rider Fran Miholjević (Bahrain Victorious) tried to attack in the last kilometre and surprise the sprinters, but he was caught 300 metres before the line.
Celebrations in Karlovac and Sveta Nedelja
At the start of the fifth stage in Karlovac, the crowds were addressed by mayor of Karlovac Damir Mandić and head of Karlovac County Martina Furdek Hajdin, accompanied by director of Karlovac County Tourist Board Željko Fanjak and director of City of Karlovac Tourist Board Marina Burić, as well as mayor of Ozalj Lidija Bošnjak and head of Draganić Municipality Anica Domladovac. The winners ceremony for stage five in Sveta Nedjelja included mayor of Sveta Nedjelja Dario Zurovec and his deputy Mario Pšeničnjak, and director of Sveta Nedjelja Tourist Board Renata Vlahović.
The final, sixth stage will be held on Sunday, running from Samobor to Zagreb at a length of 156.5 kilometres.
Further information about CRO Race
This year’s edition of CRO Race will be held from 30 September to 5 October across nearly 1,000 kilometres throughout Croatia. The race will bring together riders from twenty teams from all three Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) categories: UCI WorldTeams, UCI ProTeams, and UCI Continental Teams. Viewers will be able to watch the race live on HRT and Eurosport, and it will be broadcast in 190 nations across the world. In addition to promoting the sport of cycling, CRO Race advertises Croatia as a beautiful tourist destination, bringing shots of Croatia’s wealth of cultural and natural heritage right into the homes of viewers across the world. Since its first edition, CRO Race has been supported by the highest government institutions in Croatia. This year, support comes from the Croatian government, the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, the Croatian Tourist Board, the city of Zagreb, and numerous other cities and counties hosting stage starts or finishes or through which the race will be passing. In addition to Hrvatska elektroprivreda electricity company as one of the main sponsors, the project includes numerous other sponsors and partners: Valamar Riviera, Škoda, Carwiz, Keindl Sport, Alé, Essperto, Elite, Vinistra, Bilić-Erić, Jadrolinija, Europlakat, Kraš, the Croatian Olympic Committee, the Croatian Cycling Union, Zagreb Holding, the Ministry of the Interior, and media an dproduction partners Croatian Radiotelevision, Hanza media, Sportske novosti, Amaury Sport Organisation, Croatel, NEP.
