Hvar, the sunshine island. Famous for its beaches and nightlife in summer, its UNESCO heritage, wine, culture and spectacular nature all year round.
And cycling.
December may not be the most vibrant month on Hvar, but some very high profile visitors arrived on the island yesterday in one of the most important events for the development of Dalmatia's nascent cycling tourism sector. As previously reported on TCN, one of the world's top cycling teams, Bahrain Merida, has chosen Hvar as part of its winter training programme.
And it seems they like what they see so far...
Hvar, of course, has its own biking hotel in the form of Pharos, hvar bayhill, which reopened last year after a complete revamp. The Suncani Hvar website has more on the new arrivals:
"Pharos, hvar bayhill hotel – The bike hotel
"The choice wasn’t random. Pharos is equipped with a bike room, repair equipment and offers complete support and vibe for active holidays! The entire Bahrain team will reside at the hotel, not only their cyclists but also their top management and medical team. This will ensure full support to the cyclists and to make sure that everything goes according to plan. Their 72-member cycling team has a total of 14 nations, including 6 Croatians. The team chose Hvar as their destination for the winter camp because of the conditions needed for quality training. In addition, Hvar received overall excellent marks in all of their inspections, as previously explained by Vladimir Miholjević, a world successful and celebrated Croatian cyclist, who is the sports director and coach of the Bahrain team."
TCN will be heading down to Hvar next week to meet some of the Bahrain Merida team to get their impressions of their temporary home on the Adriatic.
