Tour de Pologne 2022

Tour de Pologne 2022 overview

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Ethan Hayter prevails at Tour de Pologne with overall title

Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ) won the bunch sprint on stage 7 of Tour de Pologne in Krakow on Friday, while a safe finish in that big group confirmed Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) as the overall winner in the general classification.

Hayter took the lead in the stage 6 individual time trial with a thin 11-second advantage over Thymen Arensman (Team DSM) and faced little challenge as the day-long breakaway absorbed any bonus seconds available mid-stage. Arensman locked in second on GC at the end of the 177.8km final stage and Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) held on to third at 18 seconds.

The 23-year-old Ineos rider became the first-ever British leader of the Tour de Pologne in its history of 92 years and 79 editions and on Friday clinched his first-ever WorldTour stage race overall victory.

As for the stage 7 frantic sprint in Krakow that was won by Démare, who sewed up the points classification, stage 1 winner Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) finished second and stage 5 winner Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) was third.

• Stage 6: Hayter takes lead as Arensman wins Tour de Pologne time trial
• Stage 5: Bauhaus gets the sprint glory with stage 5 win at Tour de Pologne
• Stage 4: Ackermann sprints to stage 4 victory at Tour de Pologne
• Stage 3: Higuita seizes victory on mammoth stage 3 of Tour de Pologne
• Stage 2: Outsider Thijssen narrowly outpowers sprint favourites in Tour de Pologne
• Stage 1: Kooij wins Tour de Pologne opening stage

2022 Dates: July 30 to August 5

Distance: 1,213km 

Start: Kielce

Finish: Kraków

How to watch: Join Cyclingnews for live coverage all seven days, and check in after each stage for our full report, results, gallery, news and features. 

The 2022 Tour de Pologne, the only WorldTour race in Poland, will embark on its 79th edition on July 30 in Kielce, the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, and conclude in Kraków’s Blonia on August 5. 

The opening three days of racing offer long, hilly routes, each stage more than 200 kilometres, with stage 3 culminating with a spectacular incline with gradients reaching 15% in the city centre of Prezemyśl. Stage 4 is a mountain day with three second-category climbs while stage 5 provides a pair of third-category climbs. 

The penultimate stage is a demanding 15.4km uphill time trial finishing at Ski station Rusiński. The grand finale of the seven-day race returns to Krakow, but this time begins in Skawina at the headquarters of Valsir for 180 kilometres, which heads  south for a loop across back-to-back KOM climbs, then swoops back through Skawina to four finishing circuits in Kraków.

All the UCI WorldTour teams will compete in Poland. They will be joined by the Polish National Team and top-ranked ProTeam Alpecin-Deceuninck, while wildcard spots were secured by Caja Rural-Seguros RGA of Spain, Uno-X Pro Cycling of Norway and Team Novo Nordisk of the United States. 

The 2021 champion was João Almeida, who is expected to return with his new team UAE Team Emirates. The 2016 Tour de Pologne champion Tim Wellens has been confirmed, racing for Lotto Soudal.

• 2022 Tour de Pologne
• 2022 Tour de Pologne route map
• Tour de Pologne past winners

Tour de Pologne 2022 route

The 2022 Tour de Pologne will kick off in Kielce for the first time, beginning with a 218.8-kilometre likely sprint stage to Lublin. The second day is very hilly from Chełm to Zamość, where the route will finish with circuits. Stage 3 is the longest day of the race at 237.9 kilometres. It is a major challenge with the terrain taking in three climbs in the final 30km, with double-digit gradients on the final of the trio before the finish in Prezemyšl.

The climbing continues on stage 4 through the Sanok-Turczan mountains with 179.4km from Lesko to Sanok. Stage 5 is similar in length, 178k, and throws in a steep  climb 12km from the finish in Rzeszów.

An uphill time trial comes on stage 6, handing the riders a challenge of 415 metres of elevation gain in just 15.4km to the finish at the Bukovina Resort. The race concludes with a hilly 177km in Kraków that should likely end in a sprint. 

Tour de Pologne history

The Tour de Pologne was first held in 1928 and then returned sporadically. It became a staple on the calendar in 1952 and has run uninterrupted since. Now in its 22nd edition as a WorldTour event, the race returns to its traditional slot between the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. 

Between 1928 and 2000, the majority of the winners were Polish, with only six riders from outside the host country taking GC honours in that time. Since 2001, however, only one Polish rider, Michal Kwiatkowski has won the title.

Tour de Pologne 2022 stages

• Stage 1 - July 30 Kielce to Lublin, 218.8km
• Stage 2 - July 31 Chełm to Zamość, 205.6km
• Stage 3 - August 1 Kraśnik to Przemyśl, 237.9km
• Stage 4 - August 2 Lesko to Sanok, 179.4km
• Stage 5 - August 3, Łańcut to Rzeszów, 178.1km
• Stage 6 - August 4, Szaflary to Rusiński Ski Station, 15.4km time trial
• Stage 7 - August 5, Skawina to Kraków, 177.8km

Tour de Pologne 2022 teams

• AG2R Citroën Team
• Astana Qazaqstan
• Bahrain Victorious
• Bora-Hansgrohe
• Cofidis
• EF Education-EasyPost
• Groupama-FDJ
• Ineos Grenadiers
• Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
• Israel-Premier Tech
• Jumbo-Visma
• Lotto Soudal
• Movistar Team
• QuickStep-AlphaVinyl
• Team BikeExchange-Jayco
• Team DSM
• Trek-Segafredo
• UAE Team Emirates
• Alpecin-Deceuninck
• Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
• Team Novo Nordisk
• Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
• Polish National Team