Rafal Majka was arguably the biggest success story at this year’s Tour de France outside of Vincenzo Nibali, after the 24-year-old Pole won two summit finishes and the King of the Mountains polka-dot jersey.

The man himself acknowledges the positive impact the race has had on him and his development: “I gained a lot of experience for the future, especially mentally.”

Majka has had a very packed schedule in 2014, riding both the Giro and the Tour so far, but he insists that he doesn’t feel tired. To emphasize this, just a week after the Tour has finished, he is going to his home race, the Tour of Poland, where he aims to fight for the win.

“It was certainly difficult to train for the Tour of Poland due to the number of media requests, but I have tried to save my energy in the past few days. I only raced two criteriums in Belgium and the Netherlands, then I went to Warsaw for the Tour of Poland's press conference.”

“I am not here just to race, but to win”. He knows he must gain as much time as possible on the queen stage to Strbské Pleso (Slovakia) next Thursday, prior to the final time trial in Krakow. But his motivation seems indestructible – as his legs have been, since February.     

It is understood that Majka will end his season at the USA Pro Challenge at the end of this month, meaning he will not ride the late season Italian Classics that saw him perform so well last year, notably, third in the Tour of Lombardy.