The history of cycling in Croatia dates to the end of the 19th century, more precisely to 1885, when the First Croatian Cyclists' Association was founded in Zagreb. This sport has become very widespread and popular by our modern times. Today's most important cycling organization is the Croatian Cycling Federation, which was founded a little less than a decade after the First Croatian Cyclists' Association. The original name of the association was "Association of Croatian Cyclists", and considering the year of its founding, it is the oldest Croatian sports association. Apart from Zagreb, at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, various bicycle clubs were founded in various Croatian cities. Bearing in mind that the first bicycles did not appear in Croatia until the late 1860s, their popularity grew fast.
Very similar situations have occurred across Europe. There, cycling as a sport began to develop in the middle of the 19th century, a little earlier than in our region. France is known for cycling today, and it was in the past. "Tour de France" is for most people the first association with the concept of cycling. This famous race was first run in 1903, and the International Cycling Union itself was founded in 1900 in Paris. The first Croatian cyclists to perform at the Olympic Games in Paris in 1924 were Đuro Dukanović, Koloman Sović and Milan Truban. A few years after these Olympic Games, our representatives participated in the previously mentioned race "Tour de France", and it was about Stjepan Ljubić, Stjepan Grgac and Rudolf Fiket. Numerous bicycle races in various disciplines were held on the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and in 1994 the "Tour de Croatie" race was regularly held. For Croatian cycling, it is important to mention 1992, when the Croatian Cycling Federation became a member of the International Cycling Union.
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