Everything is ready for the start of the 71st Tour de Pologne-UCI World Tour that kicks off today, Sunday, August 3rd, from the north of Poland, in the city of Gdansk, on the coast of the Baltic Sea.
This beginning will have special meaning. In fact, the group will line up for the start at the famous number 2 gate at the naval shipyards in Gdansk. This year the Tour de Pologne commemorates the 25th anniversary of the first free elections in Poland. In fact, the first worker strikes that were held here were the catalyst that got the Solidarnosc movement started on its long “march” towards democracy in Poland. Right before the start of the race, to celebrate and remember this solemn historical moment, there will be a rich, moving ceremony. According to tradition the Tour de Pologne brings sport, history and culture together. During the ceremony Lech Walesa, godfather and leader of Solidarnosc, together with General Manager for the Tour de Pologne Czeslaw Lang and the Mayor of Gdansk Pawel Adamowicz, will lay down a wreath of white and red flowers representing the Polish flag in front of the monument that marks this crucial passage in the process that brought democracy not only to Poland but to all of Eastern Europe.
Riders represented by Rafal Majka (fresh off winning the polka dot jersey as best climber and two stages in the Tour de France), the winner of TdP 2013 Pieter Weening and a component of the Polish National team, will also set a garland of flowers at the monument, but with the colours of the European Union. Meanwhile the skies of Gdansk will be roaring with fighter planes from the Polish acrobatic division streaking the sky with red and white smoke trails representing the Polish flag.
Afterward at 1.00 pm Lech Walesa and Czeslaw Lang will mark the official start to the 226-km fraction from Gdansk to Bydgoszcz that will open the 71st Tour de Pologne. This flat stage adapted to sprinters, at least on paper, will also assign the first yellow Skandia jersey in the 2014 edition.
“The kick-off from Gdansk, commemorating Solidarnosc, represents much deserved recognition for what was one of the fundamental movements in the story of our country and our people. To have Lech Walesa here with us, this man who was a symbolic figure in this struggle for liberty, is a motive of pride and fantastic satisfaction,” explains Czeslaw Lang, General Manager of the Tour de Pologne. “From a sports perspective we can count on a starting field of the highest level, with riders and teams which will certainly be able to make this race spectacular. I hope that after his remarkable performance at the Grande Boucle Majka will also be able to fire up all the fans who are coming out to see him and cheer him on here along his native roads of Poland. The routes we have outlined offer plenty of interesting twists; there’s the perfect terrain for lighting up the race. After the first stages for sprinters in fact there will also be space for attackers, with lots of climbs. With the finish line of the 5th stage at Strbke Pleso, for the first time in its history the Tour de Pologne will arrive in Slovakia. Not to mention the important final time trial in Krakow.”
See and download the map for the Tour de Pologne and the route for each stage:
http://tourdepologne.pl/en/t/etapy/
All the ways to follow the Tour de Pologne!
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Download the free official App (for iOS and Android) of 71st Tour de Pologne to follow everything about the race on your mobile devices.
And of course don’t forget to visit the web site www.tourdepologne.pl
The race will be broadcast live every day on the Polish channel TVP1, TVP Sport and on Eurosport.
