International mountain bike race held in Betanija city park

Organised by the Mountain Biking Club “Puls” and the Centar Municipality, the international UCI mountain bike race „Salcano MTB Cup Sarajevo 2015.“ was held on Sunday in the Betanija city park, with nearly a hundred competitors from seven countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Greece, Serbia, Montenegro, England and Russia) taking part. The competitors rode multiple laps on a 2.7-kilometre-long track, reports the Bosnian news agency Patria.

The bike race was officially opened by advisor Mustafa Resić on behalf of the Centar Municipality Mayor Dževad Bećirević, emphasising that this sports event is being held in the centre of Sarajevo for the first time.

- This international mountain bike race significantly contributes to the development of one of the most beautiful sports, which we are especially proud of. This is the first time a mountain bike race is being held in the very centre of the city, in a park built and arranged by the Centar Municipality. The Centar Municipality has an interest in supporting such events due to the desire to reduce the number of cars in the city and increase the number of cyclists, as is the case in leading Western European countries - Resić pointed out.

The participants of the „Salcano MTB Cup Sarajevo 2015.“ race competed in several categories: hobby, juniors, cadets, masters, men and women elite categories. In the women's elite competition, the best-placed was Jovana Crnogorac from Serbia, second was our Lejla Tanović, while third place was won by another competitor from BiH, Alma Alijagić. In the men's elite category, the best was Filip Turk from Croatia, second-placed was Aleksandar Roman from Serbia, and third was Demir Mulić from Montenegro.

Crnogorac said that the race was well-organised, that the track was excellent, and that she did not know such perfect conditions for mountain biking existed in the centre of a city.

After the race, Lejla Tanović, our best-placed cyclist on the world ranking list, did not hide her satisfaction with the achieved placement and the points won.

- I believe that with the points I won today, I will enter the top 80 in the world, and this represents a good end to the season for me. I am glad that I finished the race in the same lap as Jovana Crnogorac, who is the 21st cyclist in the world. I believe that next year we will have more competitors and categories - Tanović stated.

At the end of the competition, representatives of the Cycling Federation of BiH and the organisers awarded the best with medals and appropriate cash prizes and gifts.