Slovenia swept the top honours at the 12th Istria Gran Fondo in Umag, Croatia, with Laura Simenc Kramar dominating the women’s Gran Fondo and Matic Groselj sprinting to victory for the men on a beautiful sunny Saturday of UCI Gran Fondo World Series racing.
Simenc Kramar was commanding in the women’s 105 km race, winning for a second year in a row. The Santini Squadra Corse rider, a four-time UCI Gran Fondo World Champion, crossed in 2:47:02 — more than four minutes clear of compatriot Vesna Alegro Baznik (2:51:47). Switzerland’s Ela Muench took third overall in 2:56:15, edging Croatia’s Andrea Heged (2:57:46). France’s Emilie Decamps rounded out the top five in 3:21:43.
Groselj, who finished second here in 2025 behind former world champion Federico Pozzetto, converted that near-miss into victory with a perfectly timed sprint, edging compatriot Miran Kovacic and Italian Alex Raimondi — all three finishing in identical recorded times of 2:34:05 at 40.8 km/h. Fourth and fifth went to Italy’s Raul Colombo and Poland’s Marcin Karbowy, both 8 seconds back. Pozzetto finished 22nd overall and third in his age group.
In the 80 km Medio Fondo, Italy’s Davide Breccia took the men’s win in 1:56:12, with New Limits Monturanese teammate Christian Bufalini second 2:21 later. Slovenia’s Uros Vene completed the podium. Austria’s Julia Hallwirth won the women’s 80 km in 2:09:51, ahead of Italy’s Rebecca Badarello (2:11:38) and fellow Italian Mara Marchi (2:17:01).
The 105 km Gran Fondo course is no formality. Riders tackle the Oprtalj climb twice — a 6 km ascent averaging 7.8% with pitches exceeding 12% — before returning along the Istrian coastline to Umag.
The top 25% of finishers in each UCI age group qualify for the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships in Niseko, Japan, from 26 to 30 August 2026.
Complete 2026 UCI Istria Gran Fondo results HERE
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