The dominance of Paul Magnier in the CRO Race has been broken. On Friday, Brandon McNulty soloed to victory in the challenging fourth stage. The American also took over as the new leader in the general classification.
The fourth stage of the Croatian multi-day race was significantly tougher than the previous three days. On the way to the finish in Labin, there were four categorized climbs, including an HC climb ninety kilometers from the finish and the extremely steep Skitaca (3.4 kilometers at 11%) just twenty kilometers out.
In the breakaway, we saw Dutchman Axel van der Tuuk alongside Javier Ibanez, Erik Fetter, and Swann Gloux, but the break was reeled in with 84 kilometers remaining. After that, the finale began. Pepijn Reinderink and Stan Van Tricht launched attacks in the last fifty kilometers, but ultimately the decisive move came on the Skitaca climb.
There, McNulty attacked following a lead-out from Tim Wellens. The American left nothing to chance over the last twenty kilometers, grouping the rivals behind him. Edoardo Zambanini and Michal Kwiatkowski finished second and third at a hefty 1 minute and 40 seconds back. Alex Molenaar just managed to finish inside the top 10.
🚴🇭🇷 | Tim Wellens once again gives everything for team leader McNulty on the steep climb. What power. 💪 #CRORace
📺 Stream the race on HBO Max pic.twitter.com/mcOyPzG5W3
— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) October 3, 2025
CRO Race| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 04:47:57 | |
| 2 | + 01:40 | |
| 3 | " | |
| 4 | + 01:45 | |
| 5 | + 02:16 | |
| 6 | + 02:21 | |
| 7 | " | |
| 8 | " | |
| 9 | " | |
| 10 | " |
