The 21-year-old Dane won his career first professional victory after great teamwork and a successful sprint in which he beat out Croatian rider Nicolas Gojković (Pogi Team Gusto Ljubljana), with first stage winner Columbian Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) coming in third.
Dane Carl-Frederik Bevort (Uno-X Mobility) has won the second stage of this year’s CRO Race from Biograd na Moru to Novalja over a distance of 114.5 kilometres. The 21-year-old Dane won his career first professional victory after great teamwork and a successful sprint in which he beat out Croatian rider Nicolas Gojković (Pogi Team Gusto Ljubljana), with first stage winner Columbian Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) coming in third.
The stage began in Biograd na Moru, with Zadar County Tourist Board Director Vanja Čvrljak, Head of Administrative Department for Culture, Sport and Media Ante Župan, and Director of Biograd na Moru Tourist Board Nives Jeličić attending.
Just five kilometres out, 20-year-old Polish rider Szymon Wiśniewski from Wibatech Lubelskie Perła Polski and 18-year-old Slovenian Jakob Šlibar from Pogi Team Gusto Ljubljana set off on an attack. The young cyclists quickly built up a gap of more than a minute and a half, becoming the early prime movers of the second stage.
Wiśniewski won three bonus points at the first intermediate sprint in Zadar, with Šlibar taking two and Txomin Juaristi from Euskaltel-Euskadi taking one. The breakaway duo’s gap then stabilised at around a minute, while the tempo in the peloton was largely kept in control by young Italian Luca Giaimi from UAE TEAM Emirates-XRG.
At the first climb to Jovići, Wiśniewski was first over the line in front of Šlibar, with Gabriele Raccagni from Polti VisitMalta taking third place and one point towards the green jersey.
The second intermediate sprint in Pag followed, where Wiśniewski won out again over Šlibar, with Tim Wellens from UAE TEAM Emirates-XRG coming in third. The Belgian thus took one bonus second, confirming that he has his eyes on a solid result in the general classification.
Immediately after Pag came the climb to Gradac, where a fierce battle for points between Polti VisitMalta and Euskaltel-Euskadi took place. Gabriele Raccagni came out on top, taking six points and the leading place in the green jersey classification ahead of the third stage. Second was Marco Martin, and third was Jon Agirre from Euskaltel-Euskadi.
The final intermediate sprint came at Zrće, where Tim Wellens once again stood out. The Belgian took three bonus seconds, further solidifying his ambitions in the GC battle. Second over the line was Gorka Sorarrain from Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, and third was Nils Politt from UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
After numerous attacks and much jockeying for position, Uno-X Mobility took control of the final kilometres. Their riders managed the best lead-out and put their young sprinter in the perfect position in the final 200 metres.
Bevort took advantage of his team’s perfect prep work and sprinted to the first victory of his pro career. Gojković came across just a bike length behind, with Molano third over the line.
“I got my chance today and I can’t believe I was first across the finish. This is a team win, the guys put me in the perfect position in the last 200 metres. Now the harder stages are coming, but we’ll keep trying. It’s brilliant to ride through these beautiful landscapes,” said Bevort after his win.
With his third place in Novalja, Molano retained his lead in the general classification. The Columbian is four seconds up on second-placed Beworth, while Frenchman Sam Maisonobe (Cofidis) is in third place, seven seconds behind.
Nicolas Gojković also took a great step forward. With his second place win in the stage, he has jumped to fourth place in the general classification, just eight seconds behind Molano in the lead.
“I rode these roads as a boy for years, and there’s nothing better than attaining this kind of result in front of my loved ones — my mother and my stepfather are here, who introduced me to cycling. This is a dream come true, and thanks to my team for their support,” said 22-year-old Gojković, who rides for a development team supported by today’s best cyclist Tadej Pogačar. “Pogi is the kind of guy who will certainly applaud this result,” Gojković added.
Molano is also leading in the blue points jersey classification, while Raccagni has taken the lead in the green jersey classification for best climber. Bevort, meanwhile, has now taken the lead in the under-23 young riders’ classification.
Gojković’s second place in Novalja is the best finish by a Croatian rider at CRO Race since April 2017, when Kristijan Đurasek won the second stage from Trogir to Vrata Biokova.
The stage ended in Novalja, where the cyclists were met by Ivan Dabo, mayor of Novalja, and Marina Šćiran, director of Novalja Tourist Board.
The third stage of CRO Race from Krk to Labin is on schedule for Thursday. The cyclists can look forward to a 174.5 kilometre-long course, bringing new opportunities in the GC contest, as well as new attacks on a beautiful route through Istria.
This year’s CRO Race once again brings top international cycling competition to Croatia, connecting numerous Croatian destinations with the world’s best cyclists. The race passes through different parts of Croatia, and each stage brings a new fight for the general classification, points in the sprinter’s and climber’s classifications, and prestigious victories.
This year’s edition of CRO Race ends on 27 September with a grand finale in Zagreb, where the overall race winner will be announced after the final stage.
