April 12, 2022 - The 4 Islands MTB Race is a five-day mountain bike race whose primary goal is to promote mountain biking as a recreation, hobby, sport, and lifestyle.

This year differs from events in the past in that the Ironman group bought the Kvarner race and presented the "4 Islands MTB race" as part of their Epic series. Thus, Croatia and Kvarner will stand alongside Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Wales, Andorra, and South Africa. The additional value of this event is the promotion of the Croatian islands of Krk, Rab, Cres, and Lošinj as cycling destinations and improving cycling tourism as an alternative form of tourism in Croatia.

Vedran Metelko

In five days, the cyclists will cover 270 kilometers of trails and over 5,000 meters of total altitude. The race takes place every day on a different island, which is a demanding logistics and an unforgettable experience for competitors and companions. It gathers about 600 competitors from more than thirty countries worldwide, and thanks to the professional and intensive organization, participants can enjoy events in a family environment and concentrate only on their competition.

Ivan Sardi

Thanks to the top initiative of the hosts and their pleasant welcome, hard work of the organizing team, and excellent cooperation with partners, the synergy of sports and off-season tourism is achieved in Croatia, which is at its peak, and returning competitors have recognized this for several years. The race is held at the beginning of the cycling season, so it is conceptually arranged to extend the tourist season and open the cycling season of training and outdoor racing after winter.

Ivan Sardi

It is possible to compete in several categories, thus enabling fair participation of competitors of different age groups and combinations. Furthermore, racing side by side with the professionals of this sport is something that makes this race and cycling itself exceptional. It is an amateur race side by side with professionals that allow the interaction of amateurs and lovers of the sport and their idols.

The project organizer, Tomislav Zobec, revealed that the vision of the project is to position the 4 Islands MTB stage race as one of the most recognizable stage mountain bike races in the world and achieve a sustainable project for the company and the local community.

"We want to promote mountain biking and provide users with a unique cycling experience in unique locations and become a race with the world's strongest names in the sport."

"We are delighted to participate in such an event because this is another opportunity to position ourselves as an important destination for cycling tourism. Both Baška and the island of Krk and the whole of Croatia are still insufficiently discovered pearls for tourists looking for adrenaline, rest, and great experiences of the destination. We have just all of that, and that is why we are big supporters of such events, and I hope that there will be more and more of them. It is an honor and pleasure to be a part of this beautiful and truly inspiring story," said Ivana Topic, the Baška Tourist Board director.

Ivan Sardi

It is important to emphasize that the trails on all four islands are cleaned and prepared every year. After the race, they are enjoyed by many walkers, runners, and cyclists. Most of the trails that were or are part of the race today are part of the island's tourist offer.

The race takes place from April 19 to 23, 2022. 

Baška, 19.4.2022.

STAGE 1: Krk, 20.4.2022.

STAGE 2: Rab, 21.04.2022.

STAGE 3: Cres, 22.04.2022.

STAGE 4: Lošinj, 23.04.2022.

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

December 3, 2021 - After cooperating with the Ironman group in 2019 and two Plava Laguna 5150 Poreč Triathlons from the Ironman competitions, Plava Laguna will organize the 70.3 triathlon in Poreč next year, one of the world's most prestigious competitions in this sport.

Plava Laguna IRONMAN® 70.3® in Poreč will be held on October 16, 2022. A few days before, from October 13, Poreč will live in the spirit of the triathlon, and the day before the Ironman 70.3 competition, on Saturday, October 15, there will be an IronKids race, reports HRTurizam.

"After two successful editions of the Plava Laguna 5150 Triathlon, next year we will experience the Ironman 70.3 in our Green Resort in Istria, Poreč, and thus bring the Ironman brand to Croatia. One million competitors finish the race under the Ironman brand every year, and the Ironman.com website has over 30 billion visits a year. This tells us that this event will be a great promoter of Poreč, Istria, and Croatia. We are very pleased with the fact that the cooperation has deepened and that the Ironman team has full confidence that our team will be great in organizing 70.3," said Dragan Pujas, President of the Plava Laguna Board. 

Ironman 70.3 means the distance in miles that athletes have to cover in three disciplines - 1.2 miles of swimming, 56 miles of cycling, and 13.1 miles of running (expressed in km it is 113 in total, 1.9 km swimming, 90 km cycling, and 21.1 km running). The start and finish are planned at the Green Resort.

"Croatia is the perfect destination for every triathlete who wants to experience a spectacular destination and a unique culture during their competition. Croatia has a great community of triathletes, and we are looking forward to even more competitors experiencing the IRONMAN 70.3 race in Poreč," says Thomas Veje Olson, Director of the IRONMAN Group for Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

The start itself, which starts with swimming, begins in front of the Hotel Parentium, the transit zone is planned in front of the Hotel Molindrio, and the bike route will extend to Buzet and back. Finally, the last racing route starts in the transit zone in the Green Resort, to the old town of Porec and back and Funtana and back.

This competition is completed by the best athletes within 4 hours, while the race's time limit is 8 hours. Goran Vrus, the director of the race, also announced the upcoming registration fee for the event: “We have even bigger challenges ahead of us next year because we want to set as many goals as possible. We are looking forward to the organization of Ironman 70.3, and I am happy to say that the registration fees for the event will be on sale through the ironman.com page from Tuesday, December 7."

Istria County Prefect Boris Miletić emphasizes that he is thrilled that the prestigious and world-famous Ironman 70.3 race will be held in Istria and adds: "We confirm that our region is recognized as an excellent destination and partner for organizing races at the highest possible level. Congratulations to the Plava Laguna organizer."

The Istria County Tourist Board director, Denis Ivošević, adds that Istria is ideal for sports.

“That is why it is important to invest in sports tourism because it brings us not only growth in terms of the number of overnight stays outside the main season but also an international presence and visibility; also thanks to our precious territory, which due to its conformation is suitable for numerous sporting events," emphasizes Ivošević.

Croatian Tourist Board director Kristjan Staničić also spoke about the importance of branded sports events in Croatia: “Continuous promotion and positioning Croatia as a quality, safe and well-prepared destination in today's circumstances are a basic prerequisite to attract guests and tourist traffic successfully. Congratulations to Poreč and Istria; hosting such a prestigious and internationally recognized race is great for Croatia. This will give our country popularity, additional visibility, but also a quality tourist offer, which makes events like this one richer and more attractive."

The director of the Poreč Tourist Board, Nenad Velenik, agrees and is thrilled that one of the Ironman destinations in 2022 will be Poreč, not only because of the tourist traffic in the off-season also because of the enormous marketing value of such a project.

It is excellent that Croatia can be proud of another big event in 2022, emphasizes the Minister of Tourism and Sports Nikolina Brnjac and adds: "This speaks of the attractiveness of Croatia as a tourist destination, especially in the off-season, which we are constantly working on. Sports tourism is great for extending the tourist season, with the additional promotion of Croatia through the Ironman brand. We are glad that Croatia has succeeded in recognizing that big brands are a safe tourist destination."

The best at the Plava Laguna IRONMAN 70.3. Poreč will also secure spots for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in Lahti, Finland, on August 26-27, 2023. For more information on the IRONMAN brand and global series of events, visit www.ironman.com/im703-croatia

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

Plava Laguna, one of the biggest hospitality and tourism companies in Croatia, Istria County, Poreč town and Funtana municipalities, as well as their tourist boards, decided to support the new top event coming to Poreč this spring: Ironman 5150 2019 and 2020 races will be held in Istria!

HRTurizam writes about World Triathlon Corporation, the owner of the license for the event, signing the contract with Plava Laguna for the two years. 5150 race means that it's an Olympic triathlon, meaning 1.5 kilometres of swimming, 40 kilometres of cycling and 10 kilometres running. The race in 2019 will be held on May 5th, between Funtana and Poreč.

"We're thrilled that we brought the Triathlon 5150 series race to this wonderful part of Croatia, and we're sure that the athletes from the entire EMEA region will have a great event, but also an amazing weekend in Poreč", Stefan Petschnig, director of Ironman Europe, Middle East and Asia said. He added that some athletes might be intimidated by the prospect of participating in an full Ironman or Ironman 70.3 race, but 5150 race is much more accessible to athletes of varying, albeit still majestic, abilities.

Race director Goran Vrus said that he expects more than 500 participants in the race, and more than 1500 people coming to Poreč for support with them. In addition to Ithe ironman 5150 2019 Poreč race, Ironkids and Irongirl are planned to take place on August 6th, 2019.