The aim of the competition is to reduce CO2 in cities and motivate citizens to cycle when going to work, school or for coffee.
In order to participate, the residents of Zagreb must download the cycling365.eu app on their mobile phones. The app is free. Detailed information on running in the competition is available at www.cyclingchallenge.eu.
The European Cycling Challenge was launched by Bologna, Italy in 2012 to encourage citizens to use bicycles every day when moving around town. Only seven European citizens participated in that event and Zagreb was not one of them, said Darinka Jug, the event's coordinator for Zagreb.
Last May, 26,020 citizens in 40 European cities cycled 2,059,271 km in total, with Zagreb participating in the event for the first time, eventually ranking 15th, with 355 citizens cycling 31,315 km in total and saving 6,326 km of CO2.
Over 40 European cities applied for the challenge this year, Jug said.
The organisers of the Zagreb event are the city services, while the Dutch Embassy and the European Commission in Croatia are among the co-organisers.