4islands MTB Stage Race was held on the islands of Krk, Rab, Cres and Lošinj and has attracted many enthusiasts, both professional and recreational, of mountain biking from around the world, reports Index.hr on April 20, 2016.
Without a doubt, Croatia has put itself on the map of the most relevant destinations in the world of mountain biking. Croatia, and especially its coastal areas, has the potential to develop this form of cycling as its unique advantage. Due to its natural environment and weather conditions, terrain and trails, as well as the layout and the proximity of various destinations, it offers a great diversity and a possibility of visiting a large number of locations in a short time. Therefore, it is an opportunity for local communities to offer mountain bike programmes to potential visitors and to increase their tourist incomes well ahead of the start of the main tourist season.
The event was attended by over 200 pairs from 25 countries from around the world who were divided into four categories. The largest category was as usually the category of men under 45 years of age. The Czech pair of the Ceska Sporitelna Accolade team (Matouš Ulman and Pavel Boudny) demonstrated their superiority in all four stages of the race. They crossed more than 250 kilometres in a little over 10 hours.
The most interesting battle was fought in the category of mixed pairs, in which winners of individual stages changed from one day to the next. The first place in the overall standings ultimately went to the South African pair made of spouses Martin and Jeannie Dreyer who represented the HiTec/USN team. They had a seven minute advantage over the second-placed pair.
In the women's category, the best was the Croatian pair comprised of sisters Gorana and Zorana Težak, members of the Adrenalina Giant Women Team. The last year's winners repeated their success and won again, this time with the advantage of 2 hours and 5 minutes in front of their nearest opponents.
The main battle in the category of men over 45 years of age was fought between Russian, Slovenian and Slovenian/Croatian pairs, but in the end the victory was won by the Russians from the Serpantnin Cycling Team (Yury Isaev and Eduard Shaggev). All winners were awarded cash prizes.
According to the impressions of the participants, the 4islands MTB Stage Race is the best organized mountain bike race in Europe, and the long-term goal of the organizers is to become one of the top 10 races in the world.
