The CRO Race continued on Thursday with a hilly stage. The third stage featured two KOM sprints, with a total of 12 points up for grabs. Unfortunately, Team United Shipping’s Czech rider, Michal Schuran, who had been leading the mountains classification up until this stage, was not part of the breakaway. Since both KOM’s were taken by Dutchman Casper van der Woude, he moved into the leading position of the mountains classification.
As the race approached Rijeka, the breakaway was caught, and on the final climb the peloton split in two. Luckily, both Erik Fetter and Mihajlo Stolić from TUS made it into the front group. Our Serbian sprinter finished the stage in 7th place. With this, Mihajlo has now achieved top 10 stage results within a year at the Tour de Hongrie, the Czech Tour, and the CRO Race. The stage was won by Paul Magnier, who leads the GC.
Erik Fetter remained in a strong position at the GC:
“The legs were spinning quite well today, and I felt good. Positioning was really important because for the most part we were racing on narrow, poor-quality roads. I was also involved in a crash with Schuran, but fortunately we came away without major issues. Right after that, I was able to move up to the front and stayed there until the finish, which also boosted my confidence. On Friday I want to take it climb by climb, as I still don’t feel at 100%. But day by day, I’m feeling stronger, and I will definitely give it everything I have!”
Mihajlo on his great sprint:
“On the final climb, the pace was really hard, but I managed to stay right at the front of the peloton because I knew that once we went downhill, positioning would be crucial for the sprint. After a disappointing result on the opening stage and the unexpected summit finish on stage two, now I was fully focused. Given the circumstances – being completely on my own, with WorldTour teams controlling the lead-out – I think I positioned myself as best as possible. In the end, another top 10 in a pro race is a strong result. At this level, I really see a top 10 as something to be proud of, and something I can truly count on.”
