The week-long stage race will take place between 12 and 18 July.
Part of the World Tour calendar for more than a decade, the Tour de Pologne – which will run its 73rd edition this year – has a traditional course which will see the peloton roll off from the small town of Radzymin and will draw the curtain seven days later, in Krakow, one of the oldest cities in the country. The sprinters will be privileged in the first part of the week, with the general classification riders getting their share of fun in the last three days, which schedule two mountain stages (Zakopane and Bukowina Tatrzańska) and a 25-km long individual time trial.
For Fernando Gaviria – who is keen on adding an Olympic Omnium title to the one he already got at the World Championships earlier this year – this will be the last stage race he'll do before Rio de Janeiro. Bob Jungels, best young rider of the Giro d'Italia, Laurens De Plus, Nikolas Maes, Davide Martinelli, Pieter Serry, former stage winner Zdenek Stybar and Lukasz Wisniowski will also be traveling to Poland, for the 19th World Tour event of the season, a race in which Etixx – Quick-Step shined in recent years, by winning stages as well as distinctive jersey.
"We are going to the Tour de Pologne with a balanced team, able to shine in any type of race scenario. Zdenek is the rider with the most experience. He knows well the race and he is that type of rider that can play an important role and be protagonist in the key stages. Together with him we have Bob Jungels, who's coming back to a stage race after a great Giro d'Italia and can be a protagonist in the Krakow time trial", said sport director Rik van Slycke. "For the sprint stages we can count on the talent of Fernando, who is fine-tuning his condition for Rio and can rely on the experience of Nikolas Maes as lead-out man. The team is completed by Pieter and Laurens, who will be important in the mountain stages, Davide Martinelli and our Polish rider Lukasz Wisniowski, who will be motivated to shine in his home race."
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele
