Neiland stays out of the top fifties in the penultimate stage of the Cro Race

Krists Neilands | Foto: “Isreal Cycling Academy”

Latvian cyclist Krists Neilands from the Israel Start-Up Nation team took 52nd place on Saturday in the penultimate stage of the six-day Cro Race (UCI cat.2.1) in Croatia.

In the fifth stage, cyclists covered a distance of 137.5 kilometers with five climbs, the heaviest of which was the hors categorie in the middle of the stage. At the finish of the solo, the victory was celebrated by the British Steven Williams from the “Bahrain – Victorious” team, who finished the distance in three hours in 20 minutes and 35 seconds. Ten seconds later, a large group of 13 cyclists followed, led by Norwegian Markus Helgārds (“Uno-X Pro”), followed by third-place Dutchman Mick van Deik (“Jumbo-Visma”). Neilands finished alone 16 minutes and 55 seconds after the winner.

Williams became the leader in the overall standings, who is 17 seconds ahead of van Deik, but Helgārds is another second behind. Neiland is more than 42 minutes behind the leader, giving the penultimate 112th place.

The Cro Race’s six-day race will end on Sunday with a 156.5-kilometer stretch, the last third of which will have to overcome three third-category climbs. For Neiland, this is the first race since last week’s World Cup group race in which he resigned.