Ninth overall for Steff Cras at the six-day CRO Race.
Zagreb - the country’s capital and a city whose history dates as far back as 1094 - hosted the finish of the race’s last stage for the 11th year in a row. The beautiful weather and the pan-flat course made it easy for the peloton to control the five-man breakaway, and Soudal Quick-Step once again played a major role in setting the pace throughout the day and reabsorbing the escapees with around nine kilometers to go.
In the sprint, Paul Magnier was the first to start his effort with about 200 meters to go and almost made it for the second day in a row, before being passed in the last 20 meters and finishing the day in third place - his 20th podium since the start of the season.
There were no changes in the general classification, which meant that Steff Cras finished the race in ninth overall as the team’s best-placed rider at this 11th edition of the CRO Race. For the 30-year-old Belgian, it was the sixth GC top ten of his career and the first in the Soudal Quick-Step jersey.
“We had a good week in Croatia. Paul took a stage and was always up there in the sprints, Louis came close to winning a few days ago after a solid display, while Steff showed some strong climbing and finished ninth, which is a good result for him and the team”, said sports director Kevin Hulsmans.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
