13.04.2016
4 Islands MTB stage race – Stage one / Island Krk/ daily report
In a perfect weather conditions first stage of 4 Islands MTB race started today in Baška, island Krk. Nice and sunny day, 17 degrees in the air and almost no wind made this 67,73 km long and 1.580 m of ascent trail accessible for more than 400 riders that came to participate in this 4 days and 4 different islands event.
First few kilometres riders were biking thru Baška passing by the sea and then started to climb towards Moon surface. That area provides a stunning view of the whole Baška bay, offering many photo points for the ones who wanted to enjoy the moment of relaxation. The trail then led the riders to the saddle Treskavac followed by demanding rocky and sharp downhill to Punat. Just a few kilometres before the second feed zone, around 36th kilometre from the start, the nature turned into a green lowland of vineyards with easier trail to accomplish prior to the most difficult part of the stage, downhill from Vrbnik back to Baška. This was the most technically and physically demanding part 10 kilometres from the finish line and riders needed their full body strength to successfully pass it and then celebrate results at the end.
The most competitive category today was Mix teams – only few seconds gap between the winners HI TEC/USN team from South Africa and KEINDL SPORT team from Croatia. The fastest riders today are coming from Men under 45 category, ČEŠKA SPORITELNA-ACCOLADE from Czech Republic and traditionally fastest women team was ADRENALINA GIANTWOMAN TEAM from Croatia.
Results, short video report and photos you can find below.
