There is a noticeable shift in the start list of the Tour de Pologne Women that has accompanied its move from August to July in the reshuffled calendar. A number of the riders who last year were absent as they recovered from the sprint showdowns at the Tour de France Femmes are now flocking to the three-day race for a tune up ahead of the Grand Tour.
That means defending champion Chiara Consonni (Canyon-SRAM) will face a strong array of challengers in the race, which plays to the strengths of the fast finishers, as it unfolds from Friday July 24 to Sunday July 26.
The start list this year includes Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek), who swept up four stage wins and the points jersey at the Giro d'Italia Women this year, which also moved to an earlier slot in the calendar. The SD Worx duo of Lotte Kopecky and Lorena Wiebes, who won two stages of the Tour de France Femmes and the points classification in 2025, will also be lining up at Tomaszów Lubelsk on Friday. It will be a debut at the event for all three of the riders.
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Wiebes, in particular, has been light on racing in recent months, with her disqualification on stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia cutting out a big chunk of planned competition. Since then, on the road, she has just raced the Copenhagen Sprint, which she won, and Dutch championships in June, although she has thrown some gravel racing in there as well.
The fine-tuning to ensure the race readiness is dialled in right from the beginning of the Grand Tour is crucial this year, with potential opportunities for the fast finishers beginning from the opening stages of this year's Tour, which starts in Switzerland.
The Tour de Pologne women, like the Tour de France, is not serving up all pancake flat sprint stages but across the three days the chances that it will come down to a bunch finish are solid. Although, on the last stage to Lublin there is a chance that an upkick ahead of the line could provide a launch opportunity and one that may be crucial in the overall battle.
The Tour de Pologne Women starts with a 138.4km stage 1 from Tomaszów Lubelsk to Zamość, the hilliest day with four short climbs along the route and just over 1,000m of elevation gain, but a relatively flat run to the line through the last 25km.
Stage 2 will take riders from Włodawa to Lubartów, with the flattest route of the race, but there is still an uphill drag not far before the end but then it is a downhill run toward the line. The finale delivers 101.3km of racing from Janowiec to Lublin, with a ramp up within the final kilometre and then a sharp right before the final dash to the line.
"The Tour de Pologne is a race well suited to sprinters, offering plenty of opportunities for the fast finishers," said Human Powered Health in its preview of the event, where it lining up with Canadian champion Maggie Coles-Lyster who claimed a second place behind Balsamo in the stage 6 sprint at this year's Giro d'Italia.
"However, with a sting in the tail on the Stage 3 finale, the battle for the overall classification is likely to go down to the wire."
