The second day of the CRO Race international cycling race brought challenges for the riders, with the stage shortened from 114.5 to 51 kilometres due to high winds at the Pag Bridge and the finish line moved from Novalja to Jovići above Posedarje
Due to high winds at the Pag Bridge, the organisers decided to shorten the stage from 114.5 to 51 kilometres out of safety considerations for both the riders and accompanying vehicles, with the finish line moved from Novalja to the top of the category 3 climb at Jovići above Posedarje. The riders were left with just one intermediate sprint in Zadar, where Dutchman Alex Molenaar (Caja Rural-Seguros RGS) came in ahead of Pole Artur Sowinski (Run&Race-Wibatech) and Slovenian Dan Andrej Tomšič (Pogi Team Gusto Ljubljana). This trio had gone clear earlier in the stage, and the intermediate sprint in Zadar saw them 1:15 ahead of the peloton. As the stage was very short, the breakaway was not allowed to stay ahead, and immediately after leaving Zadar the gap shrunk to less than a minute. Molenaar quickly rejoined the peloton, while Sowinski and Tomšić held out until the beginning of the final climb four kilometres before the finish.
The start of the second stage in Biograd na Moru was attended by Zadar county deputy head Robertino Dujela and director of Biograd na Moru Tourist Board Nives Jeličić. The winners’ ceremony for the second stage, which was planned for Wednesday in Novalja, will be held on Thursday 2 October before the start of the third stage in Gospić. The third stage will run to Rijeka at a length of 150.5 kilometres.
The winner’s ceremony for stage three was attended by deputy head of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Robert Matić, mayor of Rijeka Iva Rinčić, the director of Rijeka Tourist Board, and Vlasta Mastrović from the Kvarner Tourist Board.
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.
