Sveti Jura – Croatia

Croatia’s toughest road climb

It’s the last day in November but despite the time of year the sun is up and there’s a coastal humidity in the air. Today we climb from sea level to just over 1700meters, so the age old question of ‘what to wear’ is debated pre-departure. We go for the slightly warmer option with packable layers for the decent. I’m glad we did, as the top is entirely different from the coastal start in Podgora, where seafront lined small cafés provide Croatian’s (all tourist have gone by this point) a place to enjoy their morning coffee alfresco. We cycle past to the cry of ‘tour of Croatia’, ‘go go go’ – a welcome early encouragement as we are then straight into the climb. The first 10k is fantastic and worth a crack even if you don’t fancy the whole ascent. The hairpin corners on smooth asphalt make for an energizing start with views over the sea looking out to the islands Hvar and Brac. The elevation doesn’t really touch double digits and it makes for a fast first third.

We soon turn off the 512 road and are onto the national park road, this is single lane width now with some steep drops off the side. You enter a forest area and the shade is welcome, even at this time of year.

The numerous hairpins through the forest really start to challenge the legs… although the toughest part is still to come. As you exit the woods the views at this point are truly magnificent, with real depth and variety, mountains, sea, coastline and islands, it makes the climbing well worth it.

The climb has 3 distinct sections, which increase in difficulty giving you enough opportunity to tap out if needed. As we climb a long section after the woods we get the to Skywalk Biokovo. This is a half moon walkway extending out of the mountain complete with glass floor. The days are short for us and we push on to the third section of the climb.

You now enter a more rugged area where the elevation is much steeper, however you’re provided with moments of rest bite as the climb levels out in places. Watch out for wild horses and cattle and enjoy the lunar style landscape equipped with small mountain huts.

With approximately 3-4 K to go the climb breaches the range you’re on and you can see over to Bosnia, with a real sense of ‘on top of the world’.

The climb is narrow and surface challenging, however the red and white antenna mast is in sight and just the last km of hairpins to ascend. Legs are really tired at this point and the thin mountain road with rusted side barriers makes it feel you’ve only just enough safety to keep you on track. We’ve been climbing for over 2 hours, as we turn into the last hairpin, we stop suddenly as the shaded final stretch is covered in snow and ice. I dismount and in true Chris Froome style use the cleats on my shoes like crampons and trot up to the top. Just when you think the views can’t get any better you’re struck with a panoramic display of mountains and sea, a huge reward for this grueling ascent. Having climbed a number of the French Alps and Dolomites most famous ascents, this will truly be a climb I’ll never forget.

Ride Information

Time of year – I’d recommend shoulder season, October time or if in summer, tackling it early on as the skywalk is popular so will mean a bit of traffic on the road, otherwise it is blissfully quite out of season, although it was nice to see a fellow cyclist ascend as we descended.

Where to start – on the coast in Podgora where there’s plenty of places to park or hotels etc… if you’re staying the night, some nice cafes available for a post ride coffee. Here a link to my Strava activity for further details https://www.strava.com/activities/8189322312

Gear – Don’t be fooled by the warm climate on the coast, you’ll be descending from over 1700 metres, so pack suitable clothing for this, as we were freezing on the descent!