Stage two of Tour of Croatia was held yesterday with 107.7 kilometer stretch between Trogir and Biokovo.
The second day of racing kicked off yesterday for Tour of Croatia with weather complications altering the structure of the second stage. The race began somewhat later than originally planned due to bad weather at the top of Biokovo.
Tour of Croatia
The blowing Bura wind and an April snowfall ended up forcing organizers to shorten the length of stage two, and instead of the cyclists reaching the ultimate goal of Sv. Jure at 1762 meters above sea level, the new finish would be marked at Vrata Biokovo which stands at 820 meters.
Thus, the length of the entire route was shortened by 15.3 kilometers (107.7 instead of 123 kilometers), and the initial ambitious and very demanding 29-kilometer ascent from Podgora to Sv. Jure, in the end, amounted to 13.2 kilometers.
Croatian Kristijan Đurasek from team UAE Emirates claimed a beautiful stage two victory over one of the greatest cyclists of all time, Vincenzo Nibali. The 29-year-old from Varaždin began to attack during the last 300 meters, crossing the finish line .3 seconds faster than Nibali. The Croat finished stage two of the race in 2 hours, 43 minutes, and 38 seconds.
Tour of Croatia
The third stage of the race runs today from Imotski to Zadar, marking the longest stretch of the tour at 237 kilometers. It is expected that the winners will be determined during the final sprint, and favorites for stage three are Nibali and Đurasek.
