This weekend, the Blidinje Nature Park is hosting the Kontinental Blidinje Bike Festival, the largest cycling event in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of the most important in the region. The festival gathers recreational and professional cyclists, and along with the promotion of a healthy life and the natural beauty of the beautiful park Blidinje, it also becomes an important part of the tourist story of that region.
Numerous lovers of cycling and nature arrived this weekend at the Blidinje Nature Park, where they had the opportunity to enjoy one of the most beautiful natural landscapes in Southeast Europe.
The Blidinje Bike Festival, which is organized for the seventh time, offers, along with professional races, recreation and entertainment for the whole family.
“My son, husband and I came. My husband and son are competing tomorrow as well, and today we drive as a family. Excellent, the nature is beautiful, we can’t wait to enjoy it,” says Milena Stojnić from Banja Luka.
“I’ve been riding a bike for three years, I’m ten years old, I’m into cycling, I go to every single race in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Pavle Stojnić from Banja Luka.
“It’s really unique, first of all in terms of nature, we have something similar here in Plitvice, I won’t mention the Dolomites, that’s another matter, but something in this sense and for this region and this area is unique,” Mario Milas from Imotski points out.
“The nature is really beautiful and the weather is a little cooler than here, mostly it’s great,” says Aleksandar Spajić from Trebinje.
“We are both in Blidinje and at the festival for the first time, and I think that the nature is great, the organization is also good. Yesterday, when we came, we already said that we have to come back for a little while longer,” said Mare Peserl from Maribor.
In addition to sports, the Festival also has a cultural-historical and touristic dimension.
“We want to present the Blidinje Nature Park, where our cycle tour guides, who have been trained by the BiH Cycling Association, will present all the destinations in Blidinje, such as stećak, Diva Grabovčeva, Masna luka, Blidinje Lake, and what is important is that they will taste the local offer, the local food from Blidinje,” says Toni Zorić, president of the BiH Bicycling Association.
Blidinje is the organizer of the Balkan Championship for the second time, which attracted professional cyclists from more than 15 countries.
“It’s something that is truly unforgettable, and as long as I’ve been in cycling, I don’t remember a country winning the organization of the Balkan Championship twice in a row. We deserved to win it this year with good organization last year,” adds Zorić.
From a local initiative, the Blidinje Bike Festival reached a global story, and put Bosnia and Herzegovina on the world cycling map, say the organizers. Along with the promotion of sports, health and nature, it also creates new opportunities for local entrepreneurs, as it increases tourist capacities, putting Blidinje on the map of world outdoor destinations.
