Croatian one-day race celebrates two winners after rare dead heat in sprint photo finish

The Croatian UCI 1.2-ranked race, the men's Umag Classic, doesn't often make the headlines, but Tuesday's 14th edition threw up something notable – a tie for the win.

The one-day race, run on a hilly circuit in the Croatian coastal city of Umag, drew to a close after 142.3km yesterday, with two winners later sharing the top step of the podium.

Of the 155 riders from 28 teams that had competed in the race, it was Dušan Rajović (Solution Tech-Nippo-Rali) and Adam Bradáč (Factor Racing) who came out on top after just over three hours of action.

The pair led home a mass sprint finish ahead of Erik Fetter (United Shipping), with Rajović coming from behind as Bradáč sat up early to celebrate victory.

A careful study of the photo finish couldn't separate the duo, and so both Bradáč and Rajović were declared winners.

The result meant that 19-year-old Bradáč managed to avoid the embarrassing fate that has befallen so many other early celebrators in the past, including Julian Alaphilippe at the 2020 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Lorena Wiebes at the 2024 Amstel Gold Race, and, most famously of all, Erik Zabel at the 2004 Milan-San Remo.

"I'm not sure what happened – I think I stopped pedalling a bit too early, and he quickly reached the finish line. In the end, we crossed the line at the same time," Bradáč said later, while Rajović said he was thrilled with the shared result.

"In the last few metres, I noticed Adam slowing slightly, so I decided to push. It's a strange feeling to share first place, but I'm actually quite happy," he said.

"In previous years, I won in Poreč and at one Istrian Spring Tour stage, so I'm thrilled to add this result to my record."

The result is Rajović's second victory of the season, with the Serb looking for a 2026 to take him beyond the 14 wins he racked up last year – a tally which saw him among the most successful riders of 2025.

The Umag Ladies Classic, a 113.6km race on a similar route, avoided a similarly strange conclusion. The reduced sprint finish saw Nika Bobnar (Nexetis) overcome an early crash to score the biggest win of her career to date. The 22-year-old beat Camilla Bezzone (Mendelspeck E-Work) and Rasa Leleivyte (Aromitalia Vaiano) to the line.

“Everything still feels unreal – this was my first UCI race, and I feel incredibly happy. I am extremely grateful to my team, who did a fantastic job," Bobnar said later.

"Throughout the race, we stayed together as a team, which allowed me to execute the perfect lead-out at the finish – the ideal moment for my sprint. Although I was the one to cross the line first, this victory belongs to the whole team."

The Istrian Spring Trophies series of races continues with the men's and women's Poreč Classic (March 8) before concluding with the men's Istrian Spring Tour (March 12-15).