For some CCC Sprandi Polkowice riders, who will make the Giro d’Italia roster, Tour of Croatia (22-26 April, cat.2.1) will be the last stage race before the Italian Grand Tour.
 

"Tour of Croatia is a 5-day event, which includes basically every type of stage except for a time trial. There are flat and hilly stages for fast riders, a stage with a short climb in the very end and an extremely demanding mountain stage similar to those on the Giro route. All of that makes it a good opportunity for some riders to get into the right rhythm and form ahead of the Italian three-week event," Piotr Wadecki, DS of CCC Sprandi Polkowice, said.

The queen stage, held on the third day of racing, is 228km long and it ends with the 22km ascent of Učka. It starts at sea level and ends at 1300m. The record time for reaching the summit is 1 hour and 32 seconds and it belongs to Robert Kiserlovski and Vladimir Miholjević who trained there before Giro in 2011.

The total elevation gain for the entire day is 3700m. It will be a perfect terrain for Sylwester Szmyd.

The first two stages are slightly hilly, but the finale is flat so bunch sprinta are expected. The second to last stage has a similar profile. The race will wrap up in Zagreb with an uphill sprint finish on cobbles. The final meters should suit fast riders, but not typical sprinters, which makes it perfect for Grega Bole and Bartłomiej Matysiak.

CCC Sprandi Polkowice line-up for Tour of Croatia:

Grega Bole, Bartłomiej Matysiak, Adrian Kurek, Sylwester Szmyd, Maciej Paterski, Jarosław Marycz, Branislau Samoilau, Marek Rutkiewicz