Kristijan Đurasek (born 26 July 1987) is a Croatian professional

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most com ...

, who most recently rode for

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road bicycle racing, road cycling, the UCI World Tou ...

. He has been competing since 2005, and has represented Croatia at two

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

, in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. In November 2019 he was banned for four years, backdated to May of that year, due to the Operation Aderlass investigation into blood doping.

Professional career

Perutnina Ptuj (2006–2008)

Đurasek started racing for Slovenian continental team in 2006, but his professional career only started in 2008. At the time he did not have much success in international races. He competed for for three years during which he won five medals at the Croatian road cycling championships.

Loborika (2009–2011)

Đurasek signed a contract with Croatian continental team at the beginning of 2009. In 2011, he won his first

UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale The Union Cycliste Internationale (; UCI; ) is the world governing body for sports cycling and ove ...

race at the GP Folignano. Two days later he repeated his success by winning the

Trofeo Internazionale Bastianelli The Trofeo Internazionale Bastianelli is a professional one day cycling race held annually in Italy. It is part of UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the ...

. During those years he won three more medals at the Croatian road cycling championships including both national titles at the 2011 championships.

Adria Mobil (2012)

In 2012, Đurasek competed for continental team . His most notable results were third place in the

GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano The GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano is a road bicycle race held annually in Larciano, Italy. After 2005, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2020, the race joined the UCI ProSeries The UCI ProSeries is the ...

, seventh place in the

Giro dell'Appennino Giro or GIRO may refer to: Banking and investments * Giro (banking), a direct payment from one bank account to another instigated by the payer * Girobank, a state owned and later privatised financial institution in the UK * GiroBank, a Danish ba ...

and third place in the Passo della Bocchetta stage in the Giro di Padania. He competed at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

as a late replacement for

Robert Kišerlovski Robert Kišerlovski (born 9 August 1986) is a Croatian former professional road bicycle racer, who competed professionally between 2005 and 2018 for the , , , , , , and squads. Career At the 2011 Paris–Nice, Kišerlovski crashed on a slipper ...

, who was injured on the 14th stage of the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

. He finished 68th in the road race, 40 seconds behind the race winner

Alexander Vinokourov Alexander Nikolayevich Vinokourov ( Kazakh and Russian: ; born 16 September 1973) is a Kazakhstani former professional road bicycle racer and the current general manager of UCI WorldTeam . He is of Russian origin. As a competitor, his achieveme ...

Lampre–Mérida (2013–2019)

At the end of the 2012 season, Đurasek signed a contract with for the 2013 season. As a result, he became the third Croatian cyclist ever to ride for a

UCI ProTeam UCI most commonly refers to: * University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States * Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling UCI may also refer to: * Uganda Cancer In ...

. His first

UCI World Tour The UCI WorldTour is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an annual ranking system based upon perfor ...

race was

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional road bicycle racing, cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the ...

, where he finished 80th overall. His first victory was in the

Tre Valli Varesine The Tre Valli Varesine is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Varese, Italy. From 2005 to 2019, the race was organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2021 it joined the UCI ProSeries calendar after being cancelled in 2020. A ...

on 23 August 2013. At the end of the 2013 season Đurasek competed at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

in men's road race, but he failed to complete the race. He finished 7th overall at the 2014 Tour of Turkey, 45 seconds behind the race winner

Adam Yates Adam Richard Yates (born 7 August 1992) is a British professional road and track racing cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Yates placed fourth overall at the 2016 Tour de France and became the first British rider to win the Young rider clas ...

. In 2015, Đurasek awarded himself the leader's jersey of the

Tour of Turkey The Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey () is a professional road bicycle racing stage race held annually in Turkey since 1963. In 2005 the race became part of the UCI Europe Tour, UCI race classifications, rated as a 2.2 event, before bei ...

on the sixth stage featuring a hilltop finish, taking the lead from

Davide Rebellin Davide Rebellin (9 August 1971 – 30 November 2022) was an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 1992 and 2022 for twelve different teams, taking more than sixty professional wins. He was considered one of the ...

. He went on to win the race in the general classification, scoring a historic result for Croatian cycling. In the

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse () is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France, which is on the calend ...

, he won the second stage by attacking a leading group of eight other riders, putting four seconds into them. He was named in the start list for the

2015 Vuelta a España The 2015 Vuelta a España was a three-week Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tour cycling stage race, cycling race. The race was the 70th edition of the Vuelta a España and took place principally in Spain, although two race stage, stages took place ...

. In 2016, Đurasek competed at his second Summer Olympics. At the Games held in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, Đurasek finished 18th, more than 3 minutes behind the race winner

Greg Van Avermaet Greg Van Avermaet (born 17 May 1985) is a retired Belgian professional cyclist. Considered one of the most versatile riders of modern cycling, Van Avermaet was a specialist of the classic cycle races, but has also won stages and the general cla ...

. As of 2016, 18th place is the best ever Croatian Olympic result across all cycling events. During that year he also took part at the

and

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...

. At the start of the 2017 season, Đurasek logged a stage win at the

Tour of Croatia The CRO Race (formally: ''Tour of Croatia'') is a men's road cycling stage race that takes place in Croatia since 2015. It is part of the UCI Europe Tour and is rated by the UCI as a 2.1 event, the third tier of professional stage races. The eve ...

, where he outsprinted

Vincenzo Nibali Vincenzo Nibali (; born 14 November 1984) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional from 2005 to 2022. He is one of seven cyclists who have won all three of cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours i ...

at the

Biokovo Biokovo () is the second-highest mountain range in Croatia, located along the Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic Sea, between the rivers of Cetina and Neretva. It is sometimes referred to as ''Bijakova'', especially among inhabitants of the ...

mountain finish.

Major results

Source: ;2007 : 2nd

Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

, National Road Championships ;2008 : National Road Championships ::1st MaillotCroacia

Under-23 time trial ::3rd Road race : 4th Overall

Tour de Serbie Tour de Serbie is a road bicycle race held annually in Serbia. First held in 1939, since 2005 it has been ranked 2.2 on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2 ...

;2009 : 2nd Tour of Vojvodina II : 6th

GP Capodarco The GP Capodarco is a European Road bicycle racing, bicycle race held in Capodarco, a city ward of Fermo, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.2 event on the UCI Europe Tour. Winners ...

: 7th

: 10th Overall

;2010 : 2nd

: 2nd Tour of Vojvodina II : 3rd Overall

Oberösterreich Rundfahrt The Oberösterreichrundfahrt is a cycling race held annually in the Austrian state Upper Austria. It was created in 2010 and is part of the UCI Europe Tour as a category 2.2 race. Winners References External links

* Cycl ...

: 5th Overall

Giro del Friuli-Venezia Giulia The Giro del Friuli-Venezia Giulia is a professional cycling race held annually in Italy. It is part of UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycli ...

: 8th

Trofeo Gianfranco Bianchin The Trofeo Gianfranco Bianchin is a one-day cycling race held annually in Italy. It was part of UCI Europe Tour in category 1.2 from 2005 to 2012. The race was created in honor of Italian professional cyclist Gianfranco Bianchin Gianfranco Bianc ...

: 10th Banja Luka–Belgrade I ;2011 : National Road Championships ::1st MaillotCroacia

Road race ::1st MaillotCroacia

: 1st GP Folignano : 1st

: 3rd Overall

Okolo Slovenska Okolo Slovenska (; ) is an annual road cycling stage race in Slovakia. Founded in 1954, since 2017 it has been rated as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is a stage race that usually includes five or more stages. History Okolo Slovenska ...

: 4th

Memoriał Henryka Łasaka Memoriał Henryka Łasaka is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in August in Lesser Poland Voivodeship and Silesian Voivodeship, Poland. It was first held in 1999 and from 2005 to 2007, the race was organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI E ...

;2012 : National Road Championships ::2nd Road race ::2nd

: 3rd

: 4th Overall

Istrian Spring Trophy The Istrian Spring Tour, formerly known as the Istrian Spring Trophy (), is a multi-day road bicycle race held annually in the Croatian part of the Istria peninsula. The race was first organized in 1961 as a small competition reserved to local cy ...

: 7th

: 8th Banja Luka–Belgrade II : 9th Overall Giro di Padania ;2013 : 1st

;2014 : 7th Overall

: 7th

;2015 : 1st MaillotCyan

Overall

: 1st Stage 2

;~~2017~~ :1st Stage 2
Tour of Croatia The CRO Race (formally: ''Tour of Croatia'') is a men's road cycling stage race that takes place in Croatia since 2015. It is part of the UCI Europe Tour and is rated by the UCI as a 2.1 event, the third tier of professional stage races. The eve ...
;~~2018~~ :9th Overall
Tour of California The Tour of California (officially sponsored as the Amgen Tour of California) was an annual professional road cycling stage race on the UCI World Tour and USA Cycling Professional Tour that ran from 2006 to 2019. It was the only event on the ...

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Durasek, Kristijan Croatian male cyclists 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Varaždin Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for Croatia Tour de Suisse stage winners Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey winners 21st-century Croatian sportsmen