The organizational apparatus is already working at full speed on the 2016 edition, but in the meantime the Tour de Pologne has received important recognition that rewards and underscores the fantastic job carried out in 2015.
The Tour de Pologne has been elected the best Polish sports event of 2015. This prestigious prize was created and is awarded every year by “Przeglad Sportowy”, the main sports daily in Poland as well as one of the original inventors of the Tour de Pologne. It’s a prize aimed at highlighting the athletes and great sporting events that enjoy success in Polish territory. It is the second longest-standing award in this sector in the world. The first one was established in Sweden in 1925, while in Poland it’s been around since 1926. During the ceremony, the public chose from 20 nominees to vote for the 10 best Polish athletes (8th place for Rafal Majka). The event was broadcast live on the TVP television network.
The Tour de Pologne received further satisfaction in seeing its General Director, Czeslaw Lang, in the Top10 list of the most inspiring personalities in Polish sport, which appeared in the Polish edition of Forbes economic and financial magazine (the list was drawn up in association with Pentagon Research). Czeslaw Lang appeared 9th on the list, along with world class sports stars like the Bayern Monaco bomber Robert Lewandowski (1st) tennis ace Agnieszka Radwanska (3rd) skiing long jump legend Adam Malysz (6th) and women’s skier Justyna Kowalczyk (8th). Besides Lang, only two other people in the Top10 are not current athletes: President of Poland’s Football Federation Zbigniew Boniek (2nd) and Zygmunt Solorz (7th), owner of the Cyfrowy Polsat TV platform. The list assigned two stars from Polish cycling, Michal Kwiatkowski and Rafal Majka (winner of the 2014 TDP) to 31st and 38th place, respectively.
“These awards are two fantastic accomplishments that testify as to how cycling is taking on an increasingly important role in the economy of Polish sports. Edition after edition, we are achieving more and more impressive results. This is reflected in the TV audience numbers and particularly by the constant growth in the enthusiasm that orbits around the race and around cycling in general, along with the great development of the Polish cycling movement in terms of teams and riders. The Tour de Pologne comes to life on the road, over the countryside and through the towns and cities; it comes to our houses through TV, radio, newspapers and the web. It’s an event that belongs to the people; that inspires children to dream through the feats of its champions. It ignites the souls of fans and enthusiasts of all ages. The love of the crowd – this is the secret of cycling’s success,” emphasizes Czeslaw Lang.
