Lejla Tanović wins Balkan Championship for the third time after injury

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Ten-time national champion and professional SMF team competitor Lejla Tanović has made an exceptional comeback after an injury that caused her to miss the World Cup.

Tanović thus won her third consecutive Balkan champion title in the elite category at the competition in Romania, which represents one of the greatest successes of the Balkan Championships.

The most successful BH cyclist achieved a convincing victory on an extremely technically demanding course, ahead of competitors from Serbia who took second and third place.

- The race was physically very difficult, while the course was technically one of the toughest so far at the Balkan Championships. For that reason, my coach and I decided to start conservatively and save energy for the final laps. I felt very good on the climbs, which gave me a great deal of confidence, and I held first place from the start to the finish of the race. Wearing the Balkan champion jersey for the third time was a special moment for me - said Lejla Tanović.

The Balkan Championship was also on the calendar of the world cycling federation UCI with a C2 category.

By winning first place, Tanović earned another 30 UCI points and another victory in UCI races. This was the seventh UCI race win in the career of our cyclist.

- Lejla raced wisely, holding the first position from the first to the last lap. She showed that she handles pressure very well, given that this was her first race after an injury and a short break. We are pleased with the first place at the Balkan Championship and the UCI points, but we are also very happy that there were no falls that could have aggravated the injury. Now we continue with preparations for the second part of the season, where a large number of races await us - said national team selector Amar Njemčević.

Tanović's next race is the World University Championship, which takes place at the end of the month, after which she is scheduled to compete in the four-day stage race Carpathian Epic in Romania.