The highly anticipated international men’s cycling race returns this April!
The international men’s cycling race ‘Tour of Croatia’ will be held for the fourth consecutive year, from April 17 to 22, 2018, through six stages on a route of over 1000 kilometers throughout Croatia. This year, the more demanding race in an even higher category of World Bicycle Organization (UCI) – 2nd HC will host teams from the most senior rankings of classification, while the excitement and stunning images of Croatia will be broadcast on all continents, reports Index.hr on February 13, 2018.
This year, Tour of Croatia starts in Osijek on Tuesday, April 17, and the goal of the first day will be Koprivnica. Subsequently, on Wednesday, April 18, the race moves to Karlovac, where the second stage will end in Zadar. The start of the third stage, scheduled for Thursday, April 19, will begin in Trogir, which could significantly impact the overall ranking since its goal is at the top of Croatia – St. Jura on Biokovo (1762 meters). The weekend’s fourth stage begins on April 20 from Starigrad (NP Paklenica) to Crikvenica, while Saturday brings new excitement with the ‘royal stage’. This stage runs from Rabac to Poklon (PP Učka), where cyclists will first climb from the Istrian to the Kvarner side. The final stage begins on Sunday, April 22 in Samobor, with the final goal, along with the already traditional finish in the city of Zagreb, at St. Mark’s Square, where the winner will be crowned.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v=Q4_VER8CwSI
The full details of the route, which passes through several national parks and nature parks, are as follows:
17.4. Osijek – PP Papuk – Koprivnica
18.4. Karlovac – NP Plitvička Jezera – PP Velebit – Zadar
19.4. Trogir – Brela – Makarska – Tučepi – Podgora – PP Biokovo (Sv. Jure)
20.4. Starigrad (NP Paklenica) – NP Sjeverni Velebit – Novi Vinodolski – Općina Vinodolska – Crikvenica
21.4. Rabac – Labin – Poklon (PP Učka) – Kastav – Viškovo – Rijeka – Opatija – Poklon (PP Učka)
22.4. Samobor – Sv. Nedjelja – Dugo Selo – Sv. Ivan Zelina – Zagreb (Trg sv. Marka)
“This year’s edition of Tour of Croatia will be much more exciting and more attractive than the previous ones. We are especially happy that the transfer stages will be minimal and the bicycle teams will have enough time for quality regeneration and preparation for the following stages. The race route runs through many nature and national parks, and we are proud to present these gems to the contestants and the whole world,” said Vladimir Miholjević, the director of the race, who added that the full program would be released soon.
Translated from Index.hr
