Tour de Pologne 2015

This will be the 72nd edition of the Tour de Pologne, a race that dates all the way back to 1928. Starting out in Warsaw on Sunday August 2, the seven-stage route aims to unite the actual, modern capital with the historic capital, Krakow, once a stronghold of Polish kings and the capital from 1038 to 1569.

After a short opening stage across laps of a circuit on the streets of Warsaw, the race heads south for two more flat stages with finishing circuits preceding the hilly latter half of the race. Stages 5 and 6 take the riders into the mountains, with a fearsome eight category 1 climbs in store on each day. That’s where the general classification will be shaped but it will be decided on the final stage, a flat 25km time trial on the streets of Krakow.

Last year’s winner Rafal Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo) will not be there to defend his title but fellow Pole Michal Kwiatkowski (Etixx-QuickStep) is sure to give the home crowds something to shout about in his world champion’s rainbow jersey. We’ll be able to see what shape Giro d’Italia runner-up Fabio Aru (Astana) is in ahead of the Vuelta a España, while Marcel Kittel (Giant-Alpecin) makes his much-anticipated return to action after a torrid season in which he was left out of the Tour de France.

The 17 WorldTour teams are joined by Polish Pro Continental outfit CCC Sprandi-Polkowice and a Polish national team.