The second stage of the CRO Race 2024 saw a new duel of sprinters, the 2nd in the Croatian race, which this time was won by Colombian Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates), after 114.5 kilometers between Biograd na Moru and Novalja.
The sprinter from Paipano risked in the final at pure speed and ended up being faster than the Italian Giovanni Lonardi (Team Polti Kometa) 2nd, the Australian Sam Welsford (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe) 3rd and Nicolò Buratti (Bahrain – Victorious) 4th. The until today leader Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility) came 5th with the same time as Molano.
As for the rest of the Colombians, Jhonatan Restrepo (Team Polti Kometa) was 111th, Jonathan Guatibonza (UAE Team Emirates) was 121st and Álvaro Hodeg (UAE Team Emirates) was 122nd, all three more than 2 minutes behind his compatriot.
For the 29-year-old sprinter from Boyaca, this is the first victory of the season and his 25th as a professional. Molano last year won the Vuelta a España, Vuelta a Burgos, GP de Denain and the UAE Tour.
The Croatian race will continue this Thursday with an undulating 154-kilometer stage starting in Otočac and arriving in Opatija, which includes five mountain passes, however, the stage ends with a short flat section.
Cro Race (2.1)
Results Stage 2 | Biograd na Moru – Novalja (114,5 km)
| 1 | Juan Sebastián Molano | UAE Team Emirates | 2:16:19 |
| 2 | Giovanni Lonardi | Team Polti Kometa | ,, |
| 3 | Sam Welsford | Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe | ,, |
| 4 | Nicolò Buratti | Bahrain – Victorious | ,, |
| 5 | Alexander Kristoff | Uno-X Mobility | ,, |
| 6 | Pavel Bittner | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | ,, |
| 7 | Edoardo Zambanini | Bahrain – Victorious | ,, |
| 8 | Mirco Maestri | Team Polti Kometa | ,, |
| 9 | Javier Serrano | Team Polti Kometa | ,, |
| 10 | Ben Turner | INEOS Grenadiers | ,, |
Ranking General
| 1 | Giovanni Lonardi | Team Polti Kometa | 6:09:09 |
| 2 | Alexander Kristoff | Uno-X Mobility | 0:02 |
| 3 | Cyrus Monk | Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | 0:06 |
| 4 | Sam Welsford | Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe | 0:08 |
| 5 | Alberto Bruttomesso | Bahrain – Victorious | ,, |
| 6 | Fred Wright | Bahrain – Victorious | ,, |
| 7 | Pavel Bittner | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | 0:09 |
| 8 | Nicolas Gijkovic | Adria Mobil | ,, |
| 9 | Jordy Bouts | TDT – Unibet Cycling Team | 0:10 |
| 10 | Tobias Lund Andresen | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | ,, |
Fuente: Revista Mundo Ciclístico