79th Tour de Pologne: Third wild card revealed – Polish National Team
We have good news for all fans of Polish cycling. Czesław Lang and Professional Cycling Council has decided to grant a wild card to the Polish National Team. Participation in the race of the World Tour rank is a chance for Poles to show themselves in the international arena and in front of their own audience.
It is probably already a tradition that during the Tour de Pologne one of the teams that receives a wild card is our national team and it is hard to imagine that during the 79th edition it will be different. Questions about the representation’s participation in the race have been asked since we announced the first wild card for the Novo Nordisk team – now we can officially confirm – the Polish National Team will participate in this year’s Tour de Pologne.
I decided to grant a wild card to our team for several reasons. It is important for me to give them a chance to show themselves in a race of the World Tour rank. I also know that fans are always looking for Polish accents and our national emblem on the riders’ jerseys. – Mentioned the race director, Czesław Lang.
Last year Łukasz Owsian (Team Arkéa Samsic) presented himself very well, winning the classification of the Best KOM of PZU. During the third stage from Sanok to Rzeszów he won all possible mountain primes on the route.
– Today I won all three climbs, but I must admit that it wasn’t as easy as everyone thinks. – he summed up his performance after the completed stage.
It is worth adding that the jersey with spots was in the hands of Poles during all seven stages. It was first won by Michał Paluta (JBG2 Team), who, however, had to accept the superiority of his team-mate, mentioned before Łukasz Owsian.
The start in front of the home crowd is an additional motivation and excitement. – As usual in the case of white-and-red riders I am extremely excited, because the new season gives all the riders new chances to fight and achieve good results during races. – says the Sport Director of Polish Cycling Association, Wacław Skarul. He also appreciates the location of the race – I think that moving the race closer to the eastern border has had a great effect on its attractiveness and spectacularity. New places, new exciting finishes. And, as usual, competition at a very high, world level. I think that this year we will witness very good racing. – he added.
What names can Polish fans expect? It is certain that the team will be formed by riders of Polish teams of the continental rank. – For sure, our representation will be made up of riders of the Woster ATS Team and HRE Mazowsze Serce Polski. I think that in the representation there should also be a place for a well-distinguished youngster. – believes Skarul.
Grzegorz Botwina, president of Polish Cycling Association, does not hide his positive attitude towards the participation of Poles in the Tour de Pologne: – I am the new President of the Polish Cycling Association and I am still discovering cycling. I am very happy that the Polish National Team will be able to start in such a popular event as the Tour de Pologne. We are counting on our riders.
The participation of the Polish National Team in an event of the highest rank, and in front of their own audience, is certainly a great distinction, but also a challenge for the riders. We keep our fingers crossed for the red-and-white riders and we wish them a successful start during the 79th Tour de Pologne UCI World Tour.