The Wolfpack was again prominent on the hardest day of racing so far.
Steff Cras made a huge jump in the general classification of the CRO Race on the queen stage, a 174.5km trek from Krk to Labin, where the now traditional uphill cobbled finish awaited. The Belgian, who is in his first season with Soudal Quick-Step, produced some strong climbing and showed he can fight for a top ten on the final ranking.
Long before the finish, the peloton had to tackle the punishing slopes of Skitača, a 3.5km climb averaging 10.8% but featuring some insane gradients of 24% which reduced the bunch to just a handful of riders in the first kilometer. Three riders broke away, catching and passing the breakaway, while Cras climbed those ramps at his own pace and booked a place in a strong chasing group.
Ilan Van Wilder joined on the descent and rode himself inside out himself for his Soudal Quick-Step teammate to reduce the gap to the leading trio, before Cras responded to an attack and made it into another group, which eventually concluded just half a minute behind winner Tobias Svarre (Uno-X Mobility). Steff took ninth after a strong effort on the last climb and is now in the top ten overall.
I felt good today on the climbs.
“It’s a pity I got distanced in the last corner of Skitača, but then I recovered a bit and managed to join that strong chasing group. After the disappointment of missing the Vuelta, it’s good to see the level I’m at, it’s something that gives me confidence for these final weeks of the season. A big thanks to the team for helping me today, that really made the difference”, Steff said at the finish in Labin.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
