ZAGREB, October 13, 2019 - The 12th anniversary since the return of 68 Lipizzan horses, who were seized and taken to Serbia at the start of the war in 1991, was marked at the Lipik horse farm in eastern Croatia, and a proposal was put forward that the Lipizzan horses be protected as the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

A working meeting was held in Lipik, involving officials from the culture ministries of Austria, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Italy and Croatia. A representative of Serbia attended as a guest.

The director of the Lipik horse farm, Damir Jakšić, said that the participants in the meeting had prepared a draft application that would be submitted to UNESCO in March 2020 requesting that the Lipizzan horses be protected as the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Horse-breeding has been consolidated and now the farm has 87 studs and mares which will be evaluated this autumn, Jakšić said, adding that 5,200 visitors had visited the farm last year and 6,200 so far this year. He said that a building permit had been secured and money was being raised to build a new farm.

More UNESCO heritage news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

October 2, 2019 - Slovenian cyclist Marko Kump, a member of the Adria Mobil team, won the first stage of the CRO Race cycling tour from Osijek to Lipik, which was 200 kilometers long.

Gol.hr reports that Marko Kump was faster than runner-up Kazakhstani Yevgeny Gidich of the Astana team by a few millimeters in the final sprint, while Romania's Eduard-Michael Grosu, a member of France's Delko Marseille, took third place.

This is the second stage victory for Kump on this Croatian tour, where he also won the second stage in 2015.

Croatian veteran 40-year-old Radoslav Rogina also played a major role in Kump's victory and pulled the main group up to the finish line to give his sprinter an excellent position for the finish.

"The team did a great job for me, especially Rogina who put me in the ideal position. I may have started 50 meters too early, but I believed I would be able to win," Kump said.

The other Croatian representative, Josip Rumac (Androni Giocattoli), who finished in ninth place, was also excellent in the first stage. 

With a 10-second bonus for the stage victory, Kump also became the first CRO Race leader and will wear a red t-shirt on Wednesday.

From the very start of this year's race, it was evident that the biggest contenders for the overall victory, British cyclist Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) and Slovenian Matej Mohoric (Bahrain), did not want to leave anything to chance. Passing the second goal in Kutjevo, they fought for bonus seconds - Mohoric won second place and two bonus seconds, and Yates third and one bonus second.

The first mountain finish in Gradac Nasicki was won by Austrian Markus Wildauer (Tyrol KTM) ahead of Italian Mauro Finetto (Delko Marseille) and Frenchman Quentin Pacher (Vital Concept). In the middle of the stage, three cyclists stood out from the leading group, Frenchman Alexis Guerin (Delko Marseille), Austrian Florian Kierner (Felbermayr Simplon Wels) and German Tobias Nolde (P&S Metalltechnik), who quickly created an advantage of more than four minutes. The three of them shared points on the third pass in Pozega, 60 kilometers before the finish. The first was Nolde, the second Guerin, and the third Kierner.

After this passing goal, the main group reduced the gap to two and a half minutes for Guerin and Kierner to lose contact with Nolde, leaving the young 20-year-old German at the forefront of the race.

Nodle was the first to cross the hill target at Bucje, and from the peloton, Wildauer stood out on the climb, securing second place at Bucje and first place in the category for the best climb at the end of the stage, and will wear a green t-shirt in the second stage. Wildauer persisted in his escape even after the hill and overtook Nolde 20 kilometers before the finish. Wildauer managed to keep himself in the lead until about five kilometers before the finish in Lipik when the leading group of cyclists swallowed him.

The second stage is scheduled to start on Wednesday from Slunj with the finish in Zadar, after cyclists pass the 186 km route through Plitvice Lakes National Park and Velebit Nature Park.

CRO Race - Stage One (Osijek - Lipik, 200 km)

1. Marko Kump (Slo/Adria Mobil) 4:27:29
2. Jevgenij Gidič (Kaz/Astana) same time
3. Eduard-Michael Grosu (Rum/Delko Marseille) "
4. John Mandrysch (Njem/P & S Metalltechnik) "
5. Alexander Edmondson (AUS/Mitchelton-Scott) "
6. Arvid de Kleijn (Niz/Metec-TKH) "
7. Cyril Gautier (Fra/Vital Concept) "
8. Rok Korošec (Slo/Ljubljana Gusto Santic) "
9. JOSIP RUMAC (HRV/Androni Giocattoli) "
10. Matej Mohorič (Slo/Bahrain-Merida) "

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

October 1, 2019 - On Tuesday at 12:10 pm, the first stage of the cycling spectacle CRO Race will set off from Osijek to Lipik. 

“When we started the project, we were aiming for the spring so our race could serve as a preparation for the 'Giro d'Italia', but now we see that this week is ideal and a hole-in-one after the World Cup and the final 'WorldTour' races like Lombardy,” said race director Vladimir Miholjevic.

HRT reports that the new racing term has also brought about a change in concept - and given the end of the season, there are no longer extreme and extensive stages. The longest stage will be precisely the first section from Osijek to Lipik, which is 200 kilometers long, while by the end of the week, the cyclists will ride another stage that is 183 kilometers (Slunj-Zadar). Three stages are about 150 kilometers (Okrug-Makarska, Starigrad- Crikvenica and Sveta Nedelja-Zagreb), while the "royal" fifth stage with the highest climb from Rabac to Platak will be only 136 kilometers long.

The biggest names on the start list for this year's CRO Race are Britain's Adam Yates, a member of the Australian Mitchelton-Scott team and Slovenian Matej Mohoric, a Bahrain-Meride driver.

Among the 117 cyclists will be only two Croats, 40-year-old Radoslav Rogina from the Slovenian team Adria Mobil and 24-year-old Josip Rumac, a member of the Italian squad Androni Giocattoli.

This is 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. 

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. 

You can read more about CRO Race here. 

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

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