Rafal Majka may currently be riding his second grand tour but the Pole has no intention of slowing down. One week after the end of the Tour de France, he will be lining up in his home race, the Tour de Pologne.
Rafal Majka from Saxo-Tinkoff group is on the start list for the 71st Tour de Pologne. A year ago, the Polish cyclist took fourth place in his national race. This time he will try to fight for the podium, and maybe even an overall win
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According to the plan for this season, Majka started the Giro d'Italia, and was set to return to competition in the Tour de Pologne. In Italy, the Pole rode very well and came in sixth place overall. Later he was included in the roster for the Tour de France, where he assisted Alberto Contador. However, the Spaniard withdrew from the competition after the terrible fall he had in the 10th stage but Majka showed his class by going on to win the big stage to Risoul.
“Majka is going on, of course, without a chance for the general classification, because it is out of reach, but definitely he is going to try to shine in one stage. Then there is the Tour de Pologne,” says Tristan Hoffman, Sports Director for Tinkoff-Saxo. “It won’t be easy to claim a victory, because there will be a lot of great competitors in Poland, but the podium may be a goal."
"I am very happy that Rafał will compete in Poland; we all remember how bravely he fought during the 70th edition of the Tour de Pologne. I believe that this year he will be at his best, and his rivalry with Michael Kwiatkowski will be the pride of race,” says General Manager of the Tour de Pologne Czeslaw Lang.
Tinkoff-Saxo also put Paweł Poljański on the theis start list. Roman Kreuziger also features on the start list but is likely to be replaced unless he is acquitted of any wrongdoing in his biological passport case.
The 71st Tour de Pologne will start August 3rd in Gdansk. The riders will start from Solidarity Square on an adventure that will cover a route of over 1,200 km, The race will end on August 9th with a time trial in Krakow.
Tinkoff-Saxo for the Tour de Pologne
Rafał MAJKA (POL), Jesus HERNANDEZ (ESP), Evgeny PETROV (RUS), Nicki SORENSEN (DEN), Oliver ZAUGG (SUI), Paweł POLJAŃSKI (POL), Roman KREUZIGER (CZE), Rory SUTHERLAND (AUS)
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