Istria300 | Highlights & Report

1,500 cyclists from 26 countries, up to 12 hours of riding and twice as many participants on Istrian roads than the last year – that is the recap of this year’s edition of Istria300, a unique cycling event for passionate cyclists worldwide, held on Saturday, October 8th.

Under the slogan “Ride your Limits!”, 1,500 cyclists from different parts of the world competed on courses of 300, 230, and 156 kilometres. They all started and finished in Poreč, but they could have decided what course they wanted to complete during the ride – another feature of this event that makes it unique worldwide.

It was extremely tense in the finals, but the winners on the 300-kilometre course were the same as last year: Hans-Jörg Leopold from Austria in the men’s competition with a time of 8:47:46, which was 24 minutes and 26 seconds better than the previous year and Astrid Schartmüller from Germany in the women’s competition with a time of 9:47:16, which is 47 minutes and 42 seconds better than the last year. Austrian David Polzer and Slovenian Eva Zorman were the fastest on the 230-kilometre course, while the winners on the shortest course of 155 kilometres were Slovenian Klemen Jančan and Italian Anna Biani.

Famous Croatian pro cyclist Fran Miholjević, former Slovenian biathlete Vasja Rupnik, former ski jumper Robert Kranjec, and the Olympic gold medal winners Nicola Thost from Germany and Martin Koch from Austria are event ambassadors. The 2021 European Champion in road biking, Sonny Colbrelli, was the honourable guest of the 2022 edition and received the starting number 300, a symbolic sign of the Istria300.

Due to the large number of participants and the traffic safety, the project was realised in intensive cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia and the Police administration of Istrian County.

“We couldn’t have hoped for a nicer weekend – twice as many cyclists as last year rode along the picturesque Istrian roads, and now they will take home the most beautiful memories. For us, it will be the best possible promotion. I want to thank all partners and sponsors who supported us, and especially our fellow citizens in Istria and the surrounding area who, as always, were more than hospitable and understanding of the special traffic regulation on the day of the competition, which was necessary for the safety of all participants. Encouraged by such a large number of participants and an even better sports atmosphere, we can expect 2,500 cyclists from the next edition of Istria300”, said Vladimir Miholjević, director of the Istria300 race.

“We are thrilled! The weather cooperated, and it was a great experience for all the athletes along the course. We are impressed with their feedback. Due to the perfect environment in Istria, we are currently the fastest-growing road bike event in Europe. Istria can be proud of it”, said Julius Rupitsch, director of the Istria300 event. Registration for Istria300 on October 7th, 2023 is open already.

The main partner of the event is Valamar Riviera, and the destination partners are the Tourist Board of the City of Poreč, the City of Poreč, Tourist Board of Istria, Croatian National Tourist Board, Tourist Boards of Labin, Tar, Funtana and Vrsar and sponsors Heineken 0.0, HEP, Pepsi, Nektar Natura and PPD.