Stage 2 of the 10th Cro Race began in Biograd and was originally set to cover 114 km, finishing on the island of Pag via its iconic bridge. However, with heavy winds making the crossing unsafe, organisers shortened the stage, moving the finish to kilometre 51 at the summit of the category 3 climb in Jovići.
Despite the reduced distance, the racing remained intense. The wind had little effect up to that point, which meant a sprint to the line seemed inevitable. With fresh legs across the peloton and the finish line placed at the top of a climb, Bahrain Victorious looked to Edoardo Zambanini to contest the finale. The decision paid off, as the Italian rider powered to second place.

Although visibly frustrated after crossing the line, Zambanini reflected positively on the result:
“Yes, I can be happy, really happy with what the team did today. We all committed to each other: Damiano, Max, Vlad, Jakob, Fran, Žak…everyone. We raced like a team. In the final, we went a little early, and with 1 km to go I was around 15th position. The left side was shorter, but I came up the longer way on the right to overtake. I found myself alongside Magnier, who won the stage, but it was a big line of sprinters, including Van Poppel, all going for the win. I was just short of Magnier.”

Sports Director Aart Vierhouten praised both the collective effort and Zambanini’s performance:
“In shortened stages it’s all about taking the initiative, and that’s what we did. We focused on what we could control, and we knew Zambanini was our best option for an uphill sprint. The whole team committed to him, and everything worked well. Edoardo took a good wheel, but Magnier has been unbeatable in recent weeks, so second place is a strong result. It gives confidence to Edoardo and to the entire team; we showed we’re ready to race for big results.”