September 7, 2019 – Everything is ready for the fifth consecutive edition of the cycling race through Croatia, which is being held under the new name Cro Race, and in a new term from October 1-6, reports HRTurizam.
Like in previous years, the race will be broadcast daily by Croatian Radio and Television with ten hours of live television broadcasts and a total of three hours of recaps. The live show will also be on Eurosport and, thanks to the collaboration with A.S.O., will broadcast on numerous television stations from as many as six continents – in Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa, and Australia – in as many as 190 countries, some of which will also show a live broadcast.
New this year is that for the US racing market, the race will be streamed live via GCN, the largest cycling online video site. In addition, the race will also be shown on a number of intercontinental airlines.
The organizer of the race is Top Sport Events, which has already proven itself to be a successful organizer of the last four editions of ‘Tour of Croatia’, led by the celebrated former Croatian cyclist Vladimir Miholjevic. “I thank all state institutions, counties, and cities, partners and sponsors for staying with us and supporting this project, and I am also pleased to be surrounded by associates who have been with us since the first year. We are all even more motivated to show Croatia and the world that we are ready to host the event at such a high competitive level and that we are a country that strives for sports success and can amaze the whole world with its natural beauties and heritage,” said Miholjevic.
This year, the most beautiful parts of Croatia, or as many as fourteen national and nature parks, are included in the race: PP Kopacki rit, PP Papuk, PP Lonjsko polje, NP Plitvice lakes, PP Vransko jezero, PP Biokovo, NP Krka, NP Paklenica, NP Northern Velebit, Velebit, Učka, Risnjak, Žumberak – Samobor Highlands and Medvednica Nature Park. Thus, during the race itself, the most beautiful postcard of Croatia will be broadcast to the world.
The race begins on Tuesday, October 1st in Osijek and passes through Našice, Kutjevo, Pleternica, Velika, Pozega, Pakrac and other places in Osijek-Baranja and Pozega-Slavonia County, with the finish in Lipik. The first stage of the race will include three nature parks: Kopacki rit, Papuk and Lonjsko polje. The next day, cyclists leave Slunj via Plitvice Lakes National Park towards Velebit Nature Park, from which they descend into Zadar County, or towards Zadar, where several exciting circles on the peninsula and an attractive sprint along the city walls are expected. The third day is created for the climbers who, after the start in Okrug, will follow the path of Biokovo and return to the finish in Makarska. During this stage, cyclists will see the beauty of Split-Dalmatia County, especially Central Dalmatia and the Makarska Riviera – Brela, Baska Voda, Tucepi, and Podgora.
The fourth stage begins in Zadar County in Starigrad, next to the Paklenica National Park, and along the old highway, it rides the southwestern slopes of Velebit across Senj towards the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County with a view to Crikvenica.
Last year, Rabac and Labin were excellent hosts, and they will continue this year for the fifth stage, which will start from Rabac with an ascent to Labin and then through Ucka to Icici, Opatija, Rijeka and Cavle. For this stage, the finish is at Platak, which is also the first time it has been involved in the race. This year, Sveta Nedelja was chosen for the start of the final stage, after which cyclists will head to Zagreb, Velika Gorica, Dugo Selo, Vrbovec and Sveti Ivan Zelina and return to Zagreb through the eastern part of Zagreb County to the finish at St. Mark’s Square.
Recall, due to disagreements in organizing the race with Vladimir Miholjevic, Ivan Crnjaric took advantage of the fact that the race was not protected, and protected the name at the Intellectual Property Office before transferring the right to his company Thorax Ltd. Crnjaric also kept the race term after applying to the International Cycling Federation and, without Vladimir Miholjevic and his team, devoted himself to organizing this year’s Tour of Croatia.
Vladimir Miholjevic, the alpha and omega of the race, responded to the case at the end of the year, pointing out that the 2019 Tour of Croatia has nothing to do with the Tour of Croatia, and that the ‘Tour of Croatia’ story ended in court. The new race director canceled the event just five days before the scheduled start. Thus, Vladimir Miholjevic organized his race, which he called CRO Race, from October 1-6.
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