Istrian Spring

The successor to the Adriatic Highway race which once ran down the length of Croatia's coast, this international cycling race was renamed when it was decided to alter the course. Its full length and each of its four sections now take place solely in Istria. The prologue stage consists of a sprint of several kilometres in which riders aim to bag the first leader's T-shirt. The other three stages, which take in much of the Istrian interior, help stretch the event to a four-day duration. The first stage leads from the Old Town of Labin, across the last 300 metres of 'diced' road to the finish line, which is reached after completing the 'undulating' roads of central Istria. The second stage almost always indicates the winner of the entire race as it takes in a tough winding ascent to Motovun, with the spectacular Mirna river situated below. Many professional and international teams take part and you can see some of the competitors, later in the season, at some of the world's biggest and best-known cycling events, such as the Tour de France.

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