Vincenzo Nibali from Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team was named the overall winner of the third edition of Tour of Croatia which ended today in Zagreb.
The final stage of the competition took cyclists from Samobor through Sveta Nedelja, Oroslavje, Marija Bistrica, Bedenica, Sveti Ivan Zelina, and onto the finish line in Zagreb, totaling a distance of 147 kilometers.
The stage six victory was celebrated by Italian Sacha Modolo of Team UAE Emirates who also won the first stage of the tour from Osijek to Koprivnica. Modolo’s finishing time was 3 hours, 16 minutes, and 52 seconds. Second place was won by Modolo’s teammate, Slovenian Jan Polanc, while third place went to Dutchman Boy Van Poppel from Trek – Segafredo. Italian Vincenzo Nibali finished in fourth, while Spaniard Jaime Roson Garcia took eleventh place.
On the eve of stage six, Nibali was two seconds behind Roson Garcia. Fortunately for Nibali, his tactical moves managed to prove successful during the final stage, and the Italian finished with an eight-second advantage over Roson Garcia, giving him the title of the tour.
Nibali’s overall win was celebrated in front of Spaniard Jaime Garcia Rosone (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA) who placed second overall. Third place was awarded to Czech Jan Hirt (CCC Polkowice Sprandi).
Tour of Croatia
From our Croatian representatives, Radoslav Rogina finished eleventh place overall, while Matija Kvasina took home seventeenth.
The best overall teams were Trek-Segafredo who placed first, CCC Sprandi Polkowice who placed second, and Bahrain-Merida who finished third.
A ceremony was held at St. Mark’s Square in Zagreb where the winners were awarded by mayor of Zagreb Milan Bandić, State Secretary of Sports Janica Kastelić, director of HTZ Ratomir Ivčić, director of Zagreb Tourist Board Martina Bienenfeld, envoy and special adviser to President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Tomislav Madžar, and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.
Nibali has thus become the third winner of the Tour of Croatia. Last year the competition was won by Croatian Matija Kvasina, and 2015 by Maciej Paterski from Poland.
