September 7, 2021 - The sixth edition of the international cycling race CRO Race will be held from September 28 to October 3 and will host about twenty cycling teams from Europe, Asia, America, and Australia, in six stages, on a route of more than 1,000 kilometers throughout Croatia.

The inclusion of the race in the World Cycling Organization (UCI) calendar and the 2.1 qualification rank of the race confirms the excellent status that CRO Race has in the cycling world.

"Along with top sports excitement and sound cycling names, this is a unique project that promotes Croatia in more than 190 countries around the world. Therefore, it is not surprising that the CRO Race race is called the most beautiful postcard of Croatia because during these six days we show our whole country from above and turn it into a unique sports arena," said Vladimir Miholjević, former Croatian cyclist and director of Top Sport Events, which has successfully organized all the previous five editions of the race through Croatia.

As in previous years, the race will be broadcast daily by the Croatian Radio and Television, the live broadcast will be broadcast on Eurosport, and thanks to the cooperation with the company A.S.O. it will be broadcast on six continents - in Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa, and Australia - in as many as 190 countries.

"I thank all state institutions, counties, and cities and partners and sponsors who are just as motivated to show the world that we are ready to host the event at such a high level of competition and that we are a country striving for sporting success and can amaze the world with its natural beauty and heritage," Miholjević pointed out.

Miholjević also adds that the list of teams is impressive this year as well - the teams Jumbo Visma, Bike Exchange, Israel Start-Up Nation, and Bahrain Victorious are just some of those who announced their arrival. This is very reminiscent of previous editions of the race when we had the opportunity to see some of the biggest names in professional cycling, such as Vincenzo Nibali, Marko Cavendish, Tadej Pogačar, Primož Roglić, Adam Yates, and others.

The first stage of the race starts from Osijek, passes through Ludbreg, and ends in Varaždin. The town of Slunj opens the second stage, and then the cyclists descend to Lika-Senj County, which will, with a finish in the town of Otočac, provide a household for the first time at the end of one stage. After that, the entire caravan moves to the coast, more precisely to Primošten, from where the third stage, 167 kilometers long, will lead through Rogoznica to the finish line in Makarska. The fourth stage starts in Zadar, and through Starigrad, Paklenica continues with a dynamic ride along the Adriatic Highway, leading cyclists to the bonus goal in Senj and the goal in Crikvenica. The beginning of the fifth stage, which covers the Istria and Primorje-Gorski Kotar counties, is located in Rabac, passing through Pazin, Kastav, Viškovo, and Rijeka and ending in Opatija. The final, sixth stage, will start in Samobor, through Sveta Nedelja, Velika Gorica, Dugo Selo, and Vrbovec, and the last mountain goal of the race in Sveti Ivan Zelina, after which it will end in Zagreb.

More info can be found HERE.

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

To learn more about sport in Croatia, CLICK HERE.

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.

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

The fifth instalment of the race, Tour of Croatia 2019, should've taken place in just a few days, from April the 23rd until the 28th. Yesterday, unfortunately, the organisers posted that they weren't able to come up with the financial structure that would allow the race to take place on their Facebook page.

Translated, the post above informs the media that Ivan Črnajić, the race director, regretfully informs the public that the race won't be taking place this year, and thank everyone who recognised the importance of the images the race sent out to the world.

Unfortunately, he says that some of the sponsors haven't fully come through with their promised support, and that the project needs to be cancelled in this, the final stage of preparation.

While the race was supported by Croatian Cycling Federation, Olympic Commitee, International Cycling Union, Ministry of Tourism, Croatian tourist board and others, the final confirmation by some sponsors was still pending, and it hasn't arrived. (There's no mention of who those sponsors might be.) 20 of the world's best teams were confirmed to participate in Tour of Croatia 2019 (Trek-Segafredo, Team Androni Giocattoli, Bardiani - CSF Pro Team, Burgos BH, Gazprom-RusVelo, Israel Cycling Academy, Neri - Selle Italia – KTM, NIPPO Vini Fantini Faizanè. Riwal Readynez Cycling Team, Roompot - Charles Cycling Team, Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise, Team Novo Nordisk, CCC Team, EvoPro Racing, Vino - Astana Motors Fan Club, BIKE AID Pro Cycling Team, MERIDIANA PRO CyclinG TeaM, TARTELETTO - ISOREX Continental Cycling Team, Team Coop and Amore & Vita – Prodir). Also, many international TV stations confirmed live coverage, on almost all continents and over 150 countries.

In the Facebook post, Črnajić accuses an unnamed former business partner for the obstruction and false statements, adding that legal steps were undertaken to protect his rights and interests.

Croatian media explain that the "unnamed former partner" is Vladimir Miholjević, former pro cyclist, who was one of the key initiators of the race (Črnajić was also among the organisers). Their partnership came to an end late last year, when Črnajić allegedly protected the name Tour of Croatia without even telling Miholjević about it, after which Miholjević withdrew from the organisation completely. Later this year, in October, Miholjević is organising another race in Croatia, called "Cro Race". Hopefully, that one will be more succesful.

December 18, 2018 - Following the press release titled "Tour of Croatia Continues! The Fifth Tour of Croatia will be held in April 2019,” sent to the media on December 17, 2018, Vladimir Miholjević, Managing Director of Top Sport Events d.o.o., sharply responded, saying the statement is false and misleads the public. 

Miholjević thus corrected the information from Monday's release. 

“Tour of Croatia 2019 has nothing to do with Tour of Croatia, which is by my company Top Sport Events d.o.o., in which I initiated and organized as the sole owner in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Except for the 13 letters contained in the ‘Tour of Croatia’ title, the new race has nothing to do with the previous releases of Tour of Croatia. It is true that the name of the race was not registered with the Intellectual Property Office, which was unfortunately used by former associate Ivan Črnjarić, who in May this year protected the name 'Tour of Croatia' as his private property. Unfortunately, this is my naive failure because I thought from the very beginning that everyone should share this race, and during the first four years of my organization, the Tour of Croatia has won numerous awards under my organization, it was declared the sporting event of the year and the most beautiful postcard of Croatia in the world.

The claim of the new organizer to be the 5th edition of the race is a deception and lie because they (the new organizer company Thorax d.o.o.) reported the race as the first release, which it can only be because all the content and results of the previous four versions undeniably belong to Top Sport Events. The new organizer has just the name, 13 letters, but not the experience, organization, knowledge, awards and so on. In fact, the new organizer has never organized any bicycle race and Thorax d.o.o. which appears as the new organizer, according to official data, is registered in the Court Registry for production and fashion design. 

HBS President Tomislav Zadro’s statement is most scandalous, because Mr. Zadro was familiar with the entire case because of HBS's reaction to the sports inspection. A comment in which Mr. Zadro's previous achievements and the experience of the TOC 'established as a top international bicycle race' is associated with the new organizers who do not have any knowledge of cycling races nor cooperation with HBS is unprofessional and sad to say by someone who is the head of a national alliance.

The 'Tour of Croatia' case is in court.”

To read more about cycling in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

The Tour of Croatia cycling race will be held for the fifth consecutive time from April 23 to 28, 2019.

Kanstantsin Siutsou, with the help of his teammates, controlled his only competitor to win this year’s Tour of Croatia. 

In the fifth stage of Tour of Croatia, where cyclists had to master Učka from the Istrian and Kvarner side, was marked as the key stage in the event. 

The Italian of the Bardiani CSF team celebrated the fourth stage after completing a total of 171 kilometers. 

Tour of Croatia’s third stage led from Trogir to Sveti Jure, the top of Biokovo, on Thursday. 

Preparation for the stage 3: Trogir – Sv. Jure (Nature Park Biokovo)