At the official closing ceremony of the race in Zagreb, the winner of the general classification was announced by Minister of Tourism and Sport Tonči Glavina, also acting as the official envoy of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. The ceremony also involved envoy of the President of Croatian Parliament Maksimilijan Šimrak and deputy mayor of Zagreb Luka Korlaet.
ZAGREB, 5 October 2025 – Brandon McNulty from team UAE Emirates has become the first cyclist two win the CRO Race general classification twice. The 27-year-old American from Phoenix, Arizona defended his title from last year with a 1:39 gap over second-placed Italian Edoardo Zambanini (Bahrain Victorious) and 1:49 over third-placed Pole Michał Kwiatkowski. “We knew the most important stage would be the fourth with the steep climb, and we just needed to hang in there for the last two days. Today was a bit harder because it was very cold,” said McNulty, whose victory at CRO Race come as his third win at week-long stage races this year after his victories in Poland in Aucust and Luxembourg in September; his excellent form was also on display three weeks ago when he won the one-day World Tour race Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal. “This has been a very good year for me. Now it’s time to rest, I’ll start thinking about next season in December,” he added. The blue jersey for the points classification was deservedly claimed by Frenchman Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), who won four stages earlier this week; the green jersey for best climber went to Dutchman Casper van der Woude (Metec-Solarwatt p/b Mantel), and the white jersey for best young rider went to Slovenian Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain Victorious). The winner of the final, sixth stage, a 156.6-kilometre route from Samobor to Zagreb that saw heavy rainfall, was Israeli national champion Oded Kogut (Israel-Premier Tech), who repeated his victory from last year, when he was also fastest in the sprint in front of the National and University Library. Kogut crossed the finish line ahead of Frenchman Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), with Briton Ben Turner (INEOS Grenadiers) coming in third.The most aggressive rider of this year’s race was certainly Czech Martin Voltr (ATT Investments), who also infiltrated the early breakaway in the sixth stage along with four other riders—Frenchman Victor Guernalec (Arkea-B&B Hotels), Spaniard Hugo Aznar (Kern Pharma), Brit Mark Stewart (Solution Tech-Vini Fantini), and Dutchman Roan Konings (Metec-Solarwatt p/b Mantel). The peloton kept them at a gap of between one and two minutes the whoel time.Voltr’s aggressiveness won him first place at the intermediate sprints in Velika Gorica and Dugo Selo, as well as the categorised climb at Sveti Ivan Zelina. Guernalec came in second at both intermediate sprints, while third place was taken by Stewart and Konings; at the climb, Aznar and Guernalec took the remaining points after Voltr.Guernalec was dropped from the lead group around 30 kilometres from the finish line, while the remaining four held on until 1.5 kilometres to the line, when they were swallowed back up by the peloton.
Festivities at the finish line in Zagreb
The winner’s ceremony in the Croatian capital in front of the National and University Library once again brought numerous guests, including representatives of sponsors and race destination partner counties and cities. The grand prize for the general classification winner, Brandon McNulty, was presented by Tonči Glavina, Minister of Tourism and Sport and official envoy of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. “This tenth edition of CRO Race has once again proven its quality and importance, both in sports and in tourism. Across this past week, thanks to this competition, images of today’s best cyclists riding through all parts of Croatia have travelled round the world, displaying our country not only as a nation of sport, but also as an appealing tourist destination. The Croatian government has provided full support to this race for many years, and its importance means we will continue to do so. I would like to congratulate the organisers headed by Vladimir Miholjević on another brilliant edition, and I wish them all the luck in all their new races,” said Minister Tonči Glavina at the official winners’ ceremony, which also included envoy of the President of Croatian Parliament Maksimilijan Šimrak, deputy mayor of Zagreb Luka Korlaet, and head of the Department for Tourist Product Development of the Croatian Tourist Board Dubravko Šimenc. The atmosphere at the start of stage six in Samobor was also festive, with mayor of Samobor Petra Škrobot and director of Samobor Tourist Board Iva Pehar participating, along with legendary water polo player and head of the Croatian Tourist Board’s Department of Tourist Product Development Dubravko Šimenc.
The youngest winners take the stage
The race’s final day also included the finale of the Kids CRO Race, a special competition involving 500 children; at the final stage in Zagreb, the youngest winners from the stages so far held in the host cities also took the stage. First place in this year’s Kids CRO Race in the 9-10 year old category was Vanja Kaurloto from Split for the girls and Domagoj Pribil from Samobor for the boys. Second place in the 9-10-year-old category were Katarina Pavlović from Labin and Noa Kolar from Sveti Martin Pod Okićem. Third place in this same category was taken by Dina Gligora from Novalja and Antonio Kos from Sveta Nedelja. First place in the 11-12-year-old category went to Nicole Nižić from Rijeka and Adrian Sudec from Zagreb, who also won two years ago, making him the first two-time winner of the Kids CRO Race title. Second place in the 11-12-year-old category went to Mario Maleš from Čavli and Aleksandra Ilić from Labin, with third place in the same age category going to Ivan Dražić and Nina Perić from Sinj.Kids CRO Race has become a tradition and an important part of CRO Race, as it encourages younger generations to get involved in sport and promotes a healthy, active lifestyle. Škola biciklizma Zagreb (Zagreb Cycling School) also took part in the Kids CRO Race on Saturday, presenting visitors with its programmes with the aim of getting more kids and parents involved in cycling.
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. 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.
