After two flat and two hilly stages, the Tour de Pologne will start to heat up with the first real mountain stage, the second longest in terms of kilometres in the 2016 edition.
The riders will set out from Wieliczka, a town which has always been special to the race, to head to Zakopane, which is also known as the Pearl of the Tatra Mountains. Zakopane is the most important Polish winter sports resort and has hosted many international competitions, most significantly the Nordic Skiing World Championships in 1929, 1939 and 1962, the Alpine Skiing World Championships in 1939 and the biathlon World Championships in 1969, in addition to numerous World Cup competitions in various winter sports. Zakopane also participated in the selections as an organizing city for the 2006 XX Olympic Games. In summer the place becomes the perfect destination for active holiday seekers, with lots of opportunities for trekking, MTB and road cycling, plus much, much more. Looking at today’s stage, after an initial in-line section, the group will enter the traditional 50 km circuit for two laps. These include mountain primes at Koscielisko Butorowy Wierch, Zab and Glodówka and sprint primes in Poronin and Koscielisko. The arrival is located in the shadows of the famous ski jump ramp here.
Today, Saturday, July 16th, in the morning a truly special event has handed at the Wieliczka – Brzegi – Campus Misericordiae, where the 5th stage of the Tour de Pologne was handed off towards the final in Zakopane. During the press conference (11.30 am), the General Director of the Tour de Pologne, Czeslaw Lang has donated a Colnago bicycle to Pope Francesco. For now the bike has been delivered to the Polish Catholic Caritas organization. Pope Francesco will be coming to Krakow for World Youth Day which is scheduled for the end of July (26-31/07). The Colnago bicycle from the Tour de Pologne will be given to him while he’s here. Afterward the bike will be given back to the Caritas to use for good causes.
There has always been a warm friendship between Poland and Ernesto Colnago, owner of the famous and winning brand of bicycles made in Italy. Thanks to him, Czeslaw Lang and Lech Piasecki went on to race in Italy with team Del Tongo-Colnago, becoming pioneers of the modern professional movement in Poland.
“Ernesto has always been an important figure in my life, to whom I really owe a lot. He has a special bond with Poland. I remember when a meeting with Karol Wojtyla was organized in Rome, and Ernesto Colnago brought the Holy Father a racing bicycle, because he knew that as a young man in Krakow, He had been an excellent cyclist. Afterward the bike was substituted with a touring model, which was more practical for the Pontiff, who used it during his outings in Castelgandolfo. It was a very emotional meeting,” says Czeslaw Lang.
“The 2016 World Youth Day will be a great opportunity for all of Poland. Even in light of the tragic events that happened in Nice, and which have been happening all too often lately, I want to say that now more than ever there is a need for peace, brotherhood and unity among all of humanity. Young people are our future, they can be and should be the foundation upon which we build a better world. In Krakow we will all come together for an important moment. We can only hope that sports and cycling can play an essential role in spreading a message of peace and hope in these trying times” concludes Lang.
Watch video of the presentation for stage 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASWwwS707Q4
REPORT:
Yesterday’s stage winner: Fernando Gaviria (Etixx – Quick-Step)
Top 5 general classification (yellow Skandia jersey)
1) Fernando Gaviria, Col, (Etixx – Quick-Step) 17h 19’ 22”
2) Michal Kwiatkowski, Pol, (Team Sky) 0’ 19”
3) Diego Ulissi, Ita, (Lampre-Merida) 0’ 22”
4) Tim Wellens, Bel, (Team LottoNL – Jumbo) 0’ 25”
5) Heinrich Haussler, Aus, (IAM Cycling) 0’ 26”
Tauron cyclamen jersey: Alessandro Tonelli (Ita), Bardiani CSF
(GPM classification)
Hyundai white jersey: Fernando Gaviria (Col), Etixx – Quick-Step
(points classification)
Lotto blue jersey: Jonas Koch (Ger), Verva-ActiveJet
(classification for most active rider in the group)
Team classification: Etixx – Quick-Step
Riders in race: 185
Didn’t start: nr. 48 Michael Woods (Cannondale Pro Cycling)
Complete classifications at:
http://tourdepologne.pl/
Check out the last videos of TDP and watch the interview with Sergio Paulinho the stage5 preview:
http://atcomm-cycling.webmobile.tv/
Watch every day the TDP live streaming: www.tourdepologne.pl/pl/live/
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