This year’s Bike Challenge from Prague to Split started on June 5th in front of newly renovated Blue Orange Sport Performance Center in Prague. Accompanied by internationally renowned Sport2life ambassadors and local kids, Mike Saran, Patrik Berger and Tomaš Grim took off to 9 days and 1200 km long biking challenge all the way to Split, Croatia and hotel Le Meridien Lav Split where they arrived on June 13th. For the first three days they were joined by Patrik Eliaš, former hockey player with 20 seasons in NHL, while Šárka Strachová, alpine ski World Champion and Jiří Kejval, president of Czech Olympic Committee joined the route through Prague.
“My goal is that this becomes an annual tradition. Our mission is to promote a healthy lifestyle and encourage our kids and youth to be more active and spend more time outdoors. We are in a very precarious phase now due to the COVID pandemic, and it is critical that we and our youth engage in sports and an active lifestyle. This challenge was meant to inspire others to do just that.” said Mike Saran.
This is a second annual Bike Challenge from Prague to Split for Mike Saran and former professional cyclist Tomaš Grim. This year they were joined for the first time by Czech former football player and Sport2life ambassador, Patrik Berger.
“When Mike approached me with this project, I felt instantly connected to its cause. Sport2life Foundation does a lot to provide kids with opportunities to do sports, and I hope that by doing this challenge we manage to show them how to push their limits and to inspire them to be more active. The team behind Bike Challenge is amazing, we had a great support along the route. This was my first time on bikes for this long and although it was challenging, it was truly an amazing experience and great fun.”, said Patrik Berger upon arrival to Split.
Trio biked through Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. On the 3rd day of the challenge, they stopped to conquer the 1771 m high top of the Hochblaser Mountain via the demanding ferrata Keiser Franz Joseph, and upon arrival in Croatia they visited the Krapina Neanderthal Museum, Samobor, Rastoke waterfalls, Baraćeve Caves, Plitvice Lakes National Park and biked through the steep roads of Lika. The route led them over Velebit mountain to enter Dalmatia where they also kayaked along the Zrmanja river and enjoyed in the natural beauties of Croatia all the way through Dalmatian Zagora, local cuisine and Split. In front of hotel Le Méridien Lav Split, Mike Saran, Patrik Berger and Tomaš Grim were welcomed by children attending the Sport2Life School of Sports and Healthy Living who after completing their last training received diplomas for successfully mastering knowledge and skills in various sports.
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 of the Sport2life Foundation.
Special thanks to:
Croatian Tourism Board
Dominicus Travel
Bombus Energy