Tim Wellens finishes on the final CRO Race podium

Finishing safely inside the peloton on the final day, Tim Wellens secured third place overall in the 2026 CRO Race, with the Belgian taking to the final podium on Sunday afternoon.

The result continues Wellens’ fine run of results, with the recent Tour of Britain winner producing another consistent general classification push as his season draws to a close. The Belgian rode to third on the Queen stage on Thursday, with that ride going a long way to sealing his spot on the overall podium.

Wellens ends the CRO Race less than 10 seconds behind the overall winner, Tobias Svarre (Uno-X Mobility), with Antonio Tiberi of Bahrain Victorious taking second place. Together, the three riders proved the strongest in the race, and after animating stage 3 to Labin, the trio more than earned their spots on the podium.

Elsewhere, the CRO Race proved fruitful for the whole UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad, with Wellens’ teammate Sebastián Molano winning stage 1. The Colombian held the race leader’s jersey for two days before his teammates Domen Novak and Rui Oliveira also finished in the top three of stages later in the week.

The whole squad rode a spirited race and moved UAE Team Emirates-XRG to 74 victories for the 2026 campaign, as the Emirati squad continues to top the UCI WorldTeam rankings. Reflecting on his week at the end of stage 6 to Zagreb, Wellens was pleased to have ended his season in a positive way.

Wellens: “This was a team effort this week, and I can say with certainty that the result is because of the work that was done away from the cameras by my teammates. Without their help, everything becomes a whole lot harder, so I want to say thank you to them.

“The general classification was determined by stage 3 in the end, and after that, I unfortunately didn’t have the legs to force the situation. In the end, I think we can be satisfied with the week. We had one stage victory and a podium almost every day. Of course, we came for the victory but sometimes we just have to accept our lot.”

CRO Race 2026 stage 6 results:

1. Davide Donati (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) 3:14:57

2. Lorenzo De Longhi (Cofidis) s.t

3. Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) s.t

CRO Race 2026 final general classification after stage 6:

1. Tobias Svarre (Uno-X Mobility) 21:37:50

2. Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) +4″

3. Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +8″