After his stunning World Road Race win, Michal Kwiatkowski will target the Ardennes Classics and Milan-Sanremo in 2015.
“We are waiting to finalize his schedule, but he will race Milano-Sanremo and return for the Ardennes classics, where he was already on the podium in two of them this spring,” his DS Davide Bramati told VeloNews.
Etixx-QuickStep have already announced that the young Pole will begin his season at the Tour de San Luis but they have said it is unkown whether he will ride Tirreno-Adriatico like he has done the past two years or if he rides Paris-Nice instead.
“The Paris-Nice organizer will not announce its route until February 3, but we will start to look around at the rumors and decide if he will race Tirreno-Adriatico or in France ahead of Sanremo,” Bramati said.
“We are very attentive to his schedule and needs. Argentina, for example, is a good place for him to start. He began there two years before, went on to place second overall at the Volta ao Algarve, fourth at Tirreno-Adriatico behind the three strongest in grand tour cyclists — Vincenzo Nibali, Alberto Contador, and Chris Froome. Why not go back? In Poland, it’s cold in January.”
While for the minute he is looking at targeting stage races and Classics, Bramati says in the future, in 5 to 7 years, he may look at winning a Grand Tour.
“We know that he has a lot of space to improve, we knew that two years ago. This year, he made big steps in time trials. In any one-day race, he’s going to be supported, but in grand tours he is going to take his time and learn. His moment will come, but for grand tour cyclists that usually is when they are 28 to 30 years old.”
Bramati insisted that Kwiatkowski will not lose his head or get a big ego as a consequence of wearing the Rainbow Jersey, but he has remained the same grounded individual he was before Ponferrada.
“The worlds rainbow jersey isn’t going to give him a big head. He’s young; it can be difficult to have the jersey at such a young age, but I’m convinced that he has the head for it. He has the right mindset. In fact, in crunch moments, in certain race finals, he can draw on that jersey and gain motivation. They say it’s a weight to carry, but it also is a fountain of motivation.”
Jorge CASTELBLANCO 36 years | today |
Jose Antonio GIMENEZ DIAS 47 years | today |
Serge JOOS 40 years | today |
Heinrich BERGER 39 years | today |
Rolando AMARGO 28 years | today |
© CyclingQuotes.com