A traffic engineer, a farmer, an analyst, and a passionate cyclist — this is a short summary of who Ivana Štukelj is. Ivana has been in love with two wheels since her first Pony bike. She is currently preparing for an ultra-marathon of 1,530 km that will take place across England and Scotland. She has been working at Zubak Grupa since the beginning of 2023, when she started as an Analyst in the Used-Car Procurement Department, and later advanced to the position of Chief Analyst for AutoZubak.
Ivana, this year you accepted a new position at Zubak Grupa. What exactly will you be doing?
-The new chapter in my Zubak journey is that at the beginning of 2025 I accepted a new challenge, where I work with colleagues from the Marketing Department to create various promotions and campaigns within the Matrix project. My role is to enable the functional side of the projects. I hope I will live up to the trust that has been given to me. – says Ivana.
And when she gets home, she becomes a farmer. Since she has lived her whole life on the family farm, she and her family run the family business together.
How did your love for cycling begin?
– Cycling has been part of my life since the days of the legendary Pony bike, and it has always been there, of course with breaks when other activities were more tempting. As for long-distance cycling, I would say it started in 2018. Something just pulled me to see how far I could go, and that comes from my lifelong drive for challenges and adrenaline. Even though I ride marathons, I’m not on the bike every day — obligations often don’t allow it. I combine weekend rides, brevets (cycling marathons), ultra-marathons, and commuting to work. Sometimes I don’t get on a bike for a whole month, but over the year I rack up about seven to eight thousand kilometers, so you could say my daily average is around twenty kilometers. – Ivana explains.
In 2022 she took part in the Fleche Velocio, a 24-hour race, in a four-woman team called “Wild Strawberries,” and they managed to cover 432 kilometers. She pointed out that Croatia is the only country in the world that has had a women’s team in Fleche Velocio two years in a row. She is a member of Randonneurs Croatie, an association that organizes brevets all across Croatia throughout the year, as well as ŠRK Pedala Laganini Karlovac.
What is the brevet community like?
– At brevets you meet people from all kinds of backgrounds, but I connected the most with the Karlovac crew. It’s the kind of team anyone would wish for — great company for rides and also great help on the farm. Always on the move, and when you have no idea what to do for the weekend, Pedala Laganini always has a plan. – Ivana laughs.
She points out that she prefers long rides to speed racing. This year she plans to test whether she can reach 450–460 km in 24 hours. Her dream is 500 km, which might be a bit out of reach, but she plans to try on the flat roads of Slavonia. Among the most important ultra-marathon races she mentions Paris–Brest–Paris, which she rode in 2023 in France, and last year’s 1001 Miglia Italia.
What is your next goal?
– My wish is to complete ‘The Great SLAM of the European Randonnee,’ which requires PBP, Miglia, LEL, and one LRM 1200+ within four years, starting with PBP. LEL stands for London–Edinburgh–London, a 1,530 km ultra-marathon across England and Scotland, and this year I am preparing specifically for it. I can’t wait. – Ivana says.
Although she is a serious cycling enthusiast, she doesn’t own many bikes — currently four. She notes that she has only had a few bikes in her life and almost all of them are still around, except for one MTB that she, as she says, “completely wrecked beyond saving.” She is practical and invests in what she really needs. A lot of money goes into marathon equipment — even a bike bag cost over €400 — but, as she says, it was one of her best investments.
When you’re not cycling, what is Ivana really like?
– I like to say I live an active life — I don’t know how to sit still, I’m basically ‘programmed’ to always be doing something. When it’s not work, it’s some activity I feel like doing: long walks, jogging, cycling, hiking, spending time with friends… There’s always something on my list. – Ivana says.
Cycling is both her passion and her hobby, but it doesn’t always have to be a race or training. Sometimes it’s an epic ride, and sometimes, Ivana laughs, it’s just a ride to the local pub for a good burger and a beer.
How long are your usual routes?
– One colleague said he won’t get on a bike for anything under 100 km — for a few years, for me anything under 200 km felt like nothing. But I’ve gone back to my factory settings, so now I’ll hop on the bike even for 5 km to go check on the fields and see how our work is progressing — or even for less. I have to admit it can get frustrating when you don’t feel like riding unless it’s something spectacular; that’s when the magic and charm of cycling disappears. – she concludes.
She often rides a loop around the village with her mom or her nieces, and when she sees their smiles after a “big” 13-km ride, she remembers how it all started and that these are really the rides one should enjoy the most.
Who is your biggest support in everything you do?
– My family supports me in everything, including my hobbies. My mom probably ‘suffers’ the most when I go to an ultra-marathon, because dark thoughts always run through her mind. But thanks to today’s technology I make it easier for her by sending GPS tracking, so she can always see where my little dot is and worry a bit less. – Ivana says.
When asked what it takes to ride an ultra-marathon, she answers simply: “Your head.”
Colleagues about Ivana:
Some projects can only be handled by colleagues with a high pain threshold — ultra-cyclists fall into that category. Ivana, best of luck in your new role as CX Manager, the heart of future communication at Zubak Grupa. (Dimitrije Trbović)
Our colleague Ivana introduced us to the concept of the brevet, and now I also know about the Paris–Brest–Paris brevet that Ivana successfully completed, along with many other rides. I admire her endurance in these extremely demanding rides and her modesty once she finishes them. (Anđela Vrkljan)
