The 82nd Tour de Pologne UCI WorldTour will begin on Monday, August 4th, starting from Centennial Hall in Wrocław and finishing on Sunday, August 10th, at the “Wieliczka” Salt Mine. The race’s General Director, Czesław Lang, invites everyone to follow the competition.
How did the preparations for the 82nd Tour de Pologne UCI WorldTour go?
Czesław Lang: Organizing the race is a very difficult and complex undertaking, but once again, we pulled it off. It’s not easy – administrative regulations are becoming more and more strict, and organizing a race like this is a challenge. In one municipality, we as Lang Team had to buy asphalt to patch up potholes. It’s really not easy, but we’ve prepared a beautiful race.
What kind of race can we expect?
We designed this race to offer something for everyone. Sprinters will have their day with the opening stage from Wrocław to Legnica, followed by stages that resemble classic races – in Karpacz, Wałbrzych, Rybnik, and Cieszyn – and I’m convinced each of them will end in a spectacular finish. Then we head from Katowice to Zakopane, followed by the well-known loop in Bukowina Tatrzańska and the BUKOVINA Resort, with the final stage being an individual time trial finishing at the “Wieliczka” Salt Mine. The 82nd Tour de Pologne UCI WorldTour will definitely be remembered as an emotional race, full of fierce competition, featuring our top riders – Michał Kwiatkowski and Rafał Majka – alongside some outstanding international stars.
Once again, the race is part of the UCI WorldTour. What does that mean?
We’re part of the UCI WorldTour – and only 9 countries have a stage race of this category, including Poland. We should be proud and happy, because this status means that every year, the best teams and top riders come to Poland.
It’s also a chance to promote Poland internationally.
Exactly. We’ll have excellent multi-hour daily broadcasts on TVP, and Eurosport – which joined us this year – will also be broadcasting the race. This means we’ll reach an even larger audience, with the broadcast signal going out to 65 countries around the world. It’s shaping up to be a true cycling celebration.
And this year, the celebration lasts for dozen days.
Exactly – our event calendar is like a pyramid, with the Tour de Pologne UCI WorldTour at the top, where the world’s elite riders compete every year. But we also care about promoting cycling among youth and amateurs, which is why we hold the Tour de Pologne Junior and the ORLEN Tour de Pologne Amateurs Ryszard Szurkowski Memorial. We expect more than 3,000 participants in the loop starting at BUKOVINA Resort. Amateur riders will take on the same course as the pros, including the Decathlon Special Prime in Gliczarów. After the elite race ends, we’ll have a rest day and then head to the Lublin region for the 3rd edition of the Tour de Pologne Women. It’s not easy to organize, it’s a huge logistical and organizational challenge for us, but I’m glad we’ve managed to pull it off – and we’ll deliver a great race for the women as well. The lineup will be excellent, too – 7 of the 14 UCI Women’s WorldTour teams will be coming to Poland. I wish all fans unforgettable excitement and hope to see you along the route!