AKP Phnom Penh, September 02, 2025 —

Serbian cyclist Ognjen Ilic, riding for the team of Borac Cacak, won the Prologue of the 72nd Tour of Bulgaria on Saturday. Ilic took the 3.5 km distance in the Black Sea resort of Primorsko in 4:21 min and put on the yellow jersey.

Germany’s Felix Gross (Rembe) finished three-hundredths of the second behind Ilic to claim second place. Greece’s Nikiforos Arvanitou (United Shipping) clocked the same time as Gross but was ranked third.

The highest-placed Bulgarian entrant was Martin Papanov, who finished 27th.

Over 120 cyclists from 20 countries on three continents are taking part in the Tour of Bulgaria. The race runs on a varied and picturesque route of coast, mountain and plain.

Stage 1 of the Tour is scheduled for Sunday, August 31. It will go 122.5 km along the coastline from Primorsko to Burgas.

AKP-BTA