The Makedonium Memorial Race departs in Kruševo, the town overlooked by the monument commemorating the Ilinden uprising of 1903. Before the riders are allowed to look at the monument they have to traverse the mountainous terrain surrounding Kruševo.
Kruševo, located on the edge of Southwestern Macedonia and the Pelagonia area, is the highest town in the Balkans, so the day starts with a long descent that is halted by a ...
Read moreThe Makedonium Memorial Race departs in Kruševo, the town overlooked by the monument commemorating the Ilinden uprising of 1903. Before the riders are allowed to look at the monument they have to traverse the mountainous terrain surrounding Kruševo.
Kruševo, located on the edge of Southwestern Macedonia and the Pelagonia area, is the highest town in the Balkans, so the day starts with a long descent that is halted by a direction change that leads the peloton towards Kicevo.
Before reaching Kicevo the Buševa mountain range has to be conquered. The climb towards Buševa is long and steady, so this early in the race it will mainly serve to deplete some energy before the final stretch. The peloton doesn’t enter Kicevo, but passes it to embark on a relatively flat stretch to the north. The riders will be surrounded by the green forests of the Macedonian hills, that are only interrupted by frequent rocky outcrops.
The eventual turn back south marks the start of the finale. A small and forgiving climb to re-enter the Pelagonia region marks a 30km dash towards the final climb. The latter part of this climb will feature the riders re-entering the town in which they started the race, but this time there will be no time to wave to the fans. Even though the elevation is less gruesome than outside the town, the riders will have to continue climbing all the way to the monument. The rough state of the tarmac in the town will be an added hazard to deal with.
Those who are lucky enough to ride the finale will probably be too occupied to look at the monument and it’s fine stained glass windows. Perhaps that’s for the best, since they are best viewed from close by, where riders can also read the names of those who took part in the insurrection against Ottoman occupation of the Balkans.
