Istria Granfondo 2018.

The 2018 IGF Classic course is completely different from all other editions of the race so far, and its concept is reminiscent of the cult Ardennes classics. The start of the race will not bring any innovations and is the same as this year's IGF Small course, which means that the starting line is in the same old place – at the beautiful ATP Stella Maris centre. The race will start with a controlled ride through Umag towards Novigrad, and the race will begin with a flying start after the final roundabout on the way out of Umag, and will continue along the coast. After passing through Novigrad, the course drops down to Antenal bridge, one of IGF's most memorable locations.

The climb to Tar is the first challenge, which typically "frees" the peloton of cyclists in poorer form. After Tar, the road continues climbing slowly towards Višnjan, and then on towards Vižinada. From the 40th kilometre at Vižinada, the descent to Ponte Porton begins. This descent isn't especially demanding, but cyclists will need a particular level of skill to control their bicycles at speeds of up to 70kph and handle the few hairpin turns near the bottom of the descent. After the descent to Ponte Porton, a loop will begin that represents a new feature of the Classic course for this year.

There will be no time to relax, as the main climb on the race will begin immediately – and we will be repeating the same climb twice. The course climbs towards Bijele Zemlje and on towards Grožnjan from the 47th-52nd kilometre; it becomes especially steep from kilometre 50-51.5, where gradients reach from 10% up to 14%.

After the end of the steep part, the course enters a rolling hilly sector that climbs constantly towards the village of Šterna, where the Classic course splits from the Small course and continues climbing towards Oprtalj. At the 68th kilometre of the race, a descent begins towards Livade, the most technically demanding part of the Classic course. The descent is marked by seven hairpin turns that cannot be handled at high speeds, meaning riders will have to explode on the way out of the turns to come back up to speed if they want to stay in the group with more skilled cyclists.

The descent ends at kilometre 73, where a completely flat section will begin that lasts until the 83rd kilometre, thus closing the Classic course loop. The race will then climb back up to Bijele Zemlje and Grožnjan, passing through Šterna at the 99th kilometre, where we will turn left and abandon the loop to begin the final 28km of moderate descent towards the finish line at Stella Maris.

A new feature at the very finish is that the course turns left onto a narrow side road 5km from the finish line, rejoining the main road 700m before the checkered flag. If the race happens to end in a bunch sprint, it will be exceptionally important to be at the head of the race in the final turn to be appropriately placed to go for the win in the sprint, as well as to avoid any potential falls while fighting for position. The Classic course is 127km long with a total of 1,380m of ascent.

This year's new edition of the Istria Granfondo will be bringing new challenges before its competitors. We have freshened up the Small course – in short, we've made it technically easier for cyclists, but made the central sector harder and well suited to attacks. But let's start from the beginning.

The starting line is at the same old place – at the beautiful ATP Stella Maris centre. We will begin with a controlled start through Umag towards Novigrad. The race will begin with a flying start after the final roundabout on the way out of Umag, from where the course will continue following the coast down to Antenal bridge, one of IGF's most memorable locations. The climb to Tar is the first challenge, which typically "frees" the peloton of cyclists in poorer form.

After Tar, the road continues climbing slowly towards Višnjan, and then on towards Vižinada. From the 40th kilometre at Vižinada, the descent to Ponte Porton begins, which is also the most technically demanding part of the Small course. This descent isn't especially demanding, but cyclists will need a particular level of skill to control their bicycles at speeds of up to 70kph and handle the few hairpin turns near the bottom of the descent.

After the descent, there will be no time to rest, as the main climb on the course will begin immediately thereafter. The course climbs from the 47th to the 52nd kilometre to Bijele Zemlje and on towards Grožnjan; it becomes especially steep between kilometres 50 and 51.5, where gradients reach from 10% up to 14%. After the climb, a rolling hilly section begins from the 52nd kilometre and the 62nd kilometre towards Šterna; this section will offer the possibility for riders to change their rhythm and break up the remaining group.

Recreational cyclists will find this part of the course challenging, as it is difficult to change rhythm and maintain high speeds on a moderate climb after a steep ascent. The final 28km of the race from Šterna to the finish line is a moderate descent.

A new feature at the very finish is that the course turns left onto a narrow side road 5km from the finish line, rejoining the main road 700m before the checkered flag. If the race happens to end in a bunch sprint, it will be exceptionally important to be at the head of the race in the final turn to be appropriately placed to go for the win in the sprint, as well as to avoid any potential falls while fighting for position. The Small course is 91km long and includes 910m of climbing.