Lecture by Denis Špadina, President of Sports Federation of Cycling in Split-Dalmatia County, was held on April 16, 2015 in the University College Aspira. The topic was the Tour of Croatia, which will be organised in Croatia by Vladimir Miholjević, Ivan Črnjarić and Andrej Filipi.
Twenty professional teams, eight of which World Tour teams and one Croatian, from 22 to 26. 4. 2015 will pedal through five counties and ten cities. This five-day cycling event will be broadcasted on national television and Eurosport, which is the evidence of its greatness.
World cycling elite will start the race in Makarska, and it will finish in our capital city. Especially important date for the northwest region of Istria and Umag is April 25, when the 4th stage of the race will be held from Pula to Umag. Umag, Novigrad, Brtonigla and Buje will once again confirm to all participants the status of northwestern Istria as an ideal destination for cyclists.
Stages:
1. Makarska – Split (160 km)
2. Šibenik – Zadar (180 km)
3. NP Plitvice – Učka (228 km)
4. Pula – Umag (152 km)
5. Varaždin – Zagreb (118 km)
The importance of this race is so great that it is ranked only a step lower of the Tour de France or Giro d’Italia, reason enough to open the new cycling season in style.
Sports tourism is growing each year, filling the hotels and apartments, especially in the pre-season. The budget of this megaproject is two million euros, and the Croatian Tourist Board’s share about four million kunas. Apparently the new big cycling story is acknowledged as an exceptionally important event for Croatian tourism since it is showing all the cultural monuments, natural beauty, national parks and nature parks. One of the goals of this race is also promoting cycling tourism in Croatia because it will be broadcasted on numerous TV stations. During the race, 6 travel documentaries that last about 90 minutes describing Croatian regions will be shown. The race will be broadcasted in more than 54 countries therefore 15 million viewers will follow it daily. Partners and sponsors include: the Government, the Ministry of Tourism, Tourist Board and local government and 30% of the project is financed by private sponsors Porsche, Ina, Hypo Bank.