The organizers has assigned the last two wild cards for the 73rd edition of the Tour de Pologne-UCI World Tour which is scheduled this year from July 12th to the 18th.

They turn out to be the Russian formation Gazprom-RusVelo and Britain’s ONE Pro Cycling, who join the five previously assigned wild cards (CCC Sprandi Polkowice, Verva ActiveJet, Bardiani CSF, Team Novo Nordisk and Reprezentacji Polski), thus bringing the total number of teams invited to the 2016 Tour de Pologne to seven .

“We believe these two teams complete a high level starting field. Along with the World Teams, who are participating by right, and the previously assigned wild cards, these two squads have the skills and potential to contribute to making the race even more competitive and compelling. These invitations were meant to enrich the national cycling movement but also to expand the international appeal of the race, which will see teams from 13 countries and 4 continents line up for the start,” explains Czeslaw Lang, general director for the Tour de Pologne.

“The invitation to the Tour de Pologne came right after the one for the Giro d’Italia, so it’s another nice score for our team,” says general manager for Gazprom-RusVelo Renat Khamidulin. “Being able to participate in races on the World Tour calendar is a fantastic opportunity. In 2014 we made our debut in World Tour right in the Tour de Pologne; it was an important experience and I’m happy to be going back. There’s tremendous enthusiasm for cycling in Poland, the cheers from the crowd are extraordinary and there is a lot of media coverage. The Tour de Pologne has been growing year after year, becoming the most important bicycle race in all of Eastern Europe, which is a very interesting geographic area for us. This year the Tour de Pologne will take place in mid-July and will be part of an essential strategy. There are two goals: on one end we will try to do our best to honour the race to its fullest; meanwhile, for some of our riders this will be an important test in preparation for the Olympic Games in Rio. There will be plenty of young talent shining at the starting gate and followed in the team car by our sports director Serguei Ivanov; he knows the Tour de Pologne very well and as a rider he has even won this race.”

“After close collaboration with the organization of the Tour de Pologne I am delighted that ONE Pro Cycling have been confirmed as a wildcard for what is a fantastic race on the cycling calendar. With two strong Polish riders (Karol Domagalski and Marcin Bialoblocki, winner of the Krakow TT last year at Tour de Pologne and 2015 Polish TT National Champion) forming part of our twenty rider roster, it’s an honour that we can give them the opportunity to race in their home tour at the highest level in world cycling. This will be one of the major focal points of our season and we’re already looking forward to it. I would like to thank the organization of the Tour of Poland for giving ONE Pro Cycling this opportunity” says Head Sports Director Matt Winston.