Third annual Sport2life Bike Challenge from Prague to Split this year took place from May 29th to June 8th. This year’s 11-days challenge was exactly 1.212 km long with more than 16.000 meters of elevation gain. Mike Saran was accompanied for the third year in a row by former professional cyclist Tomaš Grim, second year by former Liverpool and Czech national team football player and Sport2Life ambassador Patrik Berger and for the first time by Premysl Chaloupka, director of Sport2Life Czech Republic.
“The Bike Challenge has become an annual Sport2Life tradition. It is an adventure and a challenge which hopefully becomes an inspiration to our youth and kids to be active and outdoors. During the first 2 days we organized 4 big events for kids along the route, in Prague, Neveklov, Plana nad Lužnici and Trebon with the participation around 1,000 kids. It was an amazing atmosphere, and very encouraging to see how much the kids were engaged and how much they enjoyed it.”, said Mike Saran.
Apart from biking, challengers experienced different activities along the route. The fourth day was an active rest day with Klettersteig Spielmäuer ferrata climbing in the Austrian Alps, and fishing and kayaking in the Gacka river was a Sunday afternoon well spent.
“It is always good to change the activity, it gives this challenge a special note. It is a great opportunity to explore the outdoors, to enjoy the nature and to activate our bodies in different ways than just biking. It is great fun and a good break from all the uphills.”, added Patrik Berger.
After biking through the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovenia, on the 6th day of the challenge, the team entered Croatia.
“This route was designed to take us to the most interesting and hidden places of inland Croatia, starting from Pregrada, and through Samobor, Ozalj, Ogulin, Otočac, Donji Lapac, Drniš, Klis, Split and to our final destination, Le Méridien Lav hotel in Podstrana. Each one of these areas has a very specific beauty and it is always a pleasure to discover it. We had great hosts and had an opportunity to try out local cuisine.”, said Mike Saran.
“It’s been an honor for me to be a part of this challenge again. It was a little bit different this year, we have seen totally different parts of beautiful Croatia. Croatia has so much to offer, it is a fantastic place to explore and enjoy the ride. I am also very proud to be a part of such amazing team as a Sport2Life ambassador and I am really looking forward to Bike Challenge 2023.”, continued Patrik Berger.
Just as they were sent off in Prague by Sport2Life kids and their families, the challengers were emotionally welcomed in Split also by Sport2Life kids and their families.
“This year we were able to include a lot of kids from our Sport2Life programs in our activities along the challenge. It was great to see all those happy faces greeting us and welcoming us. We are just finishing our School of Sports and Healthy Living program in both the Czech Republic and Croatia so we used this opportunity to give our participants diplomas and invite them to join our future sport and educational activities.”, concluded Premysl Chaloupka, first-year challenger and director of Sport2Life Czech Republic.
More pictures and videos can be seen on official Instagram accounts of Mike Saran @mikessaran and the Sport2life Foundation @sport2life_croatia, @sport2life_czech @sport2life_turkey and on Facebook page Sport2life and Sport2life Češka Republika.
Special thanks to:
- Croatian Tourism Board and all local tourism boards in Croatia
- Nutramino Czech
- BP Action
- Dominicus Travel