Tour de Pologne facts for kids

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Tour de Pologne

Race details
Date	August
Region	Poland
English name	Tour of Poland
Local name(s)	Wyścig Dookoła Polski
Discipline	Road race
Competition	UCI World Tour
Type	Race stage
Organiser	Lang Team Sp. z o.o.
Race director	Czesław Lang
History
First edition	1928; 96 years ago (1928)
Editions	80 (as of 2023)
First winner	Feliks Więcek (POL)
Most wins	Dariusz Baranowski (POL)  Andrzej Mierzejewski (POL)  Marian Więckowski (POL) (3 wins each)
Most recent	Matej Mohorič (SLO)

Józef Stefański wins the first stage of the 1929 edition of the race.

The peloton in the 2004 Tour de Pologne.

Ondřej Sosenka was the winner of the race in 2004.

2006 Tour de Pologne in Toruń

2019 Tour de Pologne stage 2 peloton finish in Katowice.

Start of the third stage of 2021 Tour de Pologne

Dariusz Baranowski the winner of the 1991, 1992, 1993 TdP.

The Tour de Pologne (Polish: Wyścig Dookoła Polski; English: Tour of Poland), officially abbreviated TdP, is an annual, professional men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in Poland. It consists of seven or eight stages and is usually around 1,200 km in length. The race was first held in 1928 and is considered the oldest and most important bicycle race in Poland.

Until 1952 the race was held sporadically, but since then it has been an annual race. Until early 1993 the race was open to amateur cyclists only and most of its winners came from Poland. Since 2009, the race has been taking place between July and August.

The international cycling association, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), made TdP part of the UCI ProTour in 2005, and part of the UCI World Tour, cycling's highest level of professional men's races, in 2009. In 2016, the three-stage women's competition Tour de Pologne kobiet was organised one day after the last men's stage. Three riders, Dariusz Baranowski, Andrzej Mierzejewski and Marian Więckowski, share the record of most wins, with three each.

History

Beginnings

The initial concept of the TdP's multi-stage format was modelled after the popular Tour de France. The proposal for organizing the event was submitted jointly by the Warsaw Cycling Society and the Przegląd Sportowy sports newspaper published in Kraków. Thanks to their initiative, a Wyścig Dookoła Polski (Race Around Poland, the original name of the TdP) was held in the summer of 1928. The historic first edition of the race took place from 7–11 September 1928. 71 cyclists rode almost 1,500 km — the winner was Felix Więcek from the Bydgoszcz Cycling Club. The honorary patrons of the race included President of the Second Polish Republic Ignacy Mościcki while the President of the Honorary Committee was Marshal Józef Piłsudski.

Until the outbreak of World War II, the TdP took place four times, two of which — in the years 1937 and 1939 - were won by the "Tiger of the Roads" - Bolesław Napierała.

The early races differed significantly from today's. The stages were much longer (often a distance of 300 km), and riders repeatedly caught flat tires on stone-chipped roads, and made stops at local restaurants.

Post-WWII

After the war, the idea of a cycling competition around Poland was reborn. In 1947, thanks to the cooperation of the Polish Cycling Association, the publishing house Czytelnik and a group of journalists, the race was reactivated after an 8-year break. The winner after just four stages and only 606 km (the shortest route in the history of the TdP) was Stanislaw Grzelak. Until 1993 it was not possible for the organizers of TdP to achieve an adequate rank for their event. This was due to the official stance of the authorities and the favoring of a different cycling event — the Peace Race. Noteworthy moments from that time period: triumphs of foreign cyclists — Francesco Locatelli (1949), Roger Diercken (1960), José Viejo (1972) and André Delcroix (from 1974); the longest edition of the race - 2,311 km and 13 stages (in 1953); and the hat-trick of victories of Marian Wieckowski (1954–56), matched only by Dariusz Baranowski (1991–93).

In 1993, Czesław Lang, the 1980 Summer Olympics cycling road race silver medalist and the winner of the 1980 TdP, took over the function of TdP Director. Thanks to his persistent efforts, the TdP is now a UCI World Ranking event.

In 1997, during the UCI congress in San Sebastian, TdP advanced to the professional category of 2.4, and was classified as a "National Race" (the first of its kind in Central and Eastern European countries).

At the 1999 UCI Road World Championships, the UCI Technical Commission promoted the race to Class 2.3. On 12 October 2001 the Tour was promoted to category 2.2.

Since 2005

In the 2005 decision of the UCI, the TdP was included in the elite of cycling events — the UCI ProTour. The composition of the sample were three Grand Tours: Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, Vuelta a España, classic World Cup, staged races 2.HC category (i.e. Paris–Nice, Tour de Suisse), the classics 1.HC (i.e. La Flèche Wallonne - The Walloon Arrow) and the TdP, which was advanced by 2 categories to 2HC.

Over several years, the activities of Polish precursor of professional law enforcement — Czeslaw Lang, Kolarska amateur event, known in the mainly communist countries, has been transformed into a well-organized professional race. This resulted in the groups with the top names of professional cycling such as Danilo Di Luca, Laurent Brochard, Óscar Freire, Romāns Vainšteins, Viatcheslav Ekimov, Gianluca Bortolami, Erik Dekker, Stefano Garzelli, Vincenzo Nibali and Jonas Vingegaard as well as cyclists like Mark Cavendish, Cadel Evans, Fabio Aru, Baden Cooke, Daniele Bennati, Richard Carapaz, Matej Mohorič, Simon Yates, Jakob Fuglsang, Dan Martin, Thibaut Pinot, Bradley Wiggins, André Greipel, Remco Evenepoel, Geraint Thomas and Peter Sagan.

Tour de Pologne received the title of "Best Sport Event of the Year" on six occasions in the Przegląd Sportowy polls in 1995, 1996, 2004, 2008, 2011 and 2015.

The Czech Republic, Italy and Slovakia are the three countries which have hosted stages or part of a stage of Tour de Pologne: (Český Těšín in 2010, 2011 and 2012, Trentino South Tirol in 2013 and Štrbské Pleso in 2014).

List of winners

		Rider	Team
1928		Więcek, FeliksFeliks Więcek		Bydgoski Klub Kolarzy
1929		Stefański, JózefJózef Stefański		AKS Warszawa
1933		Lipiński, JerzyJerzy Lipiński		Skoda Warszawa
1937		Napierała, BolesławBolesław Napierała		Polska II
1939		Napierała, BolesławBolesław Napierała		Syrena Warszawa
1947		Grzelak, StanisławStanisław Grzelak		Tramwajarz Łódź
1948		Wójcik, WacławWacław Wójcik		Polska I
1949		Locatelli, FrancescoFrancesco Locatelli		Italy
1952		Wójcik, WacławWacław Wójcik		CWKS Warszawa
1953		Wilczewski, MieczysławMieczysław Wilczewski		Unia Chorzów
1954		Więckowski, MarianMarian Więckowski		CWKS Warszawa
1955		Więckowski, MarianMarian Więckowski		CWKS Warszawa
1956		Więckowski, MarianMarian Więckowski		CWKS Legia Warszawa
1957		Kowalski, HenrykHenryk Kowalski		Lechia Gdańsk
1958		Fornalczyk, BogusławBogusław Fornalczyk		LZS Myszków
1959		Podobas, WiesławWiesław Podobas		CWKS Warszawa
1960		Diercken, RogerRoger Diercken		Belgium
1961		Kowalski, HenrykHenryk Kowalski		Lechia Gdańsk
1962		Kudra, JanJan Kudra		Społem Łódź
1963		Gazda, StanisławStanisław Gazda		Start Bielsko
1964		Zieliński, RajmundRajmund Zieliński		LZS Nowogard
1965		Beker, JózefJózef Beker		LZS Mokrzeszów
1966		Gawliczek, JózefJózef Gawliczek		LZS II
1967		Bławdzin, AndrzejAndrzej Bławdzin		LZS Mazowsze
1968		Kudra, JanJan Kudra		Społem Łódź
1969		Matusiak, WojciechWojciech Matusiak		Arkonia Szczecin
1970		Stachura, JanJan Stachura		Unia Oświęcim
1971		Szozda, StanisławStanisław Szozda		CWKS Legia Warszawa
1972		Viejo, José LuisJosé Luis Viejo		Spain
1973		Lis, LucjanLucjan Lis		Górnik Radzionków
1974		Delcroix, AndréAndré Delcroix		Belgium
1975		Mytnik, TadeuszTadeusz Mytnik		Flota Gdynia
1976		Kowalski, JanuszJanusz Kowalski		Polska
1977		Michalak, LechosławLechosław Michalak		Polska II
1978		Brzeźny, JanJan Brzeźny		Polska I
1979		Charucki, HenrykHenryk Charucki		Metalowiec
1980		Lang, CzesławCzesław Lang		Polska I
1981		Brzeźny, JanJan Brzeźny		Polska I
1982		Mierzejewski, AndrzejAndrzej Mierzejewski		Polska
1983		Krawczyk, TadeuszTadeusz Krawczyk		Polska I
1984		Mierzejewski, AndrzejAndrzej Mierzejewski		Polska
1985		Leśniewski, MarekMarek Leśniewski		Polska
1986		Kulas, MarekMarek Kulas		Polska
1987		Piątek, ZbigniewZbigniew Piątek		Polska
1988		Mierzejewski, AndrzejAndrzej Mierzejewski		LZS I
1989		Wrona, MarekMarek Wrona		JZS Jelcz Oława
1990		Karłowicz, MieczysławMieczysław Karłowicz		JZS Jelcz
1991		Baranowski, DariuszDariusz Baranowski		OZKol Wałbrzych
1992		Baranowski, DariuszDariusz Baranowski		Soia – Górnik
1993		Baranowski, DariuszDariusz Baranowski		Pekaes Lang Rover Legia
1994		Fondriest, MaurizioMaurizio Fondriest		Lampre Panaria Animex
1995		Spruch, ZbigniewZbigniew Spruch		Lampre Panaria Animex
1996		Djavanian, ViatcheslavViatcheslav Djavanian		Roslotto ZG
1997		Järmann, RolfRolf Järmann		Casino – Géant
1998		Ivanov, SergueiSerguei Ivanov		TVM–Farm Frites
1999		Brożyna, TomaszTomasz Brożyna		Mróz
2000		Przydział, PiotrPiotr Przydział		Mat–Ceresit–CCC
2001		Sosenka, OndřejOndřej Sosenka		Ceresit–CCC–Mat
2002		Brochard, LaurentLaurent Brochard		Jean Delatour
2003		Zamana, CezaryCezary Zamana		Action Nvidia–Mróz
2004		Sosenka, OndřejOndřej Sosenka		Acqua & Sapone
2005		Kirchen, KimKim Kirchen		Fassa Bortolo
2006		Schumacher, StefanStefan Schumacher		Gerolsteiner
2007		Vansummeren, JohanJohan Vansummeren		Predictor–Lotto
2008		Voigt, JensJens Voigt		CSC–Saxo Bank
2009		Ballan, AlessandroAlessandro Ballan		Lampre–NGC
2010		Martin, DanDaniel Martin		Garmin–Transitions
2011		Sagan, PeterPeter Sagan		Liquigas–Cannondale
2012		Moser, MorenoMoreno Moser		Liquigas–Cannondale
2013		Weening, PieterPieter Weening		Orica–GreenEDGE
2014		Majka, RafałRafał Majka		Tinkoff–Saxo
2015		Izagirre, IonIon Izagirre		Movistar Team
2016		Wellens, TimTim Wellens		Lotto–Soudal
2017		Teuns, DylanDylan Teuns		BMC Racing Team
2018		Kwiatkowski, MichałMichał Kwiatkowski		Team Sky
2019		Sivakov, PavelPavel Sivakov		Team Ineos
2020		Evenepoel, RemcoRemco Evenepoel		Deceuninck–Quick-Step
2021		Almeida, JoãoJoão Almeida		Deceuninck–Quick-Step
2022		Hayter, EthanEthan Hayter		Ineos Grenadiers
2023		Mohorič, MatejMatej Mohorič		Team Bahrain Victorious

Multiple winners

Wins	Rider	Editions
3	Dariusz Baranowski (POL)	1991, 1992, 1993
	Andrzej Mierzejewski (POL)	1982, 1984, 1988
	Marian Więckowski (POL)	1954, 1955, 1956
2	Jan Brzeźny (POL)	1978, 1981
	Henryk Kowalski (POL)	1957, 1961
	Jan Kudra (POL)	1962, 1968
	Bolesław Napierała (POL)	1937, 1939
	Ondřej Sosenka (CZE)	2001, 2004
	Wacław Wójcik (POL)	1948, 1952

Winners by country

#	Country	Victories
1	Poland	52
2	Belgium	6
3	Italy	4
4	Russia	3
5	Czech Republic	2
	Germany	2
	Spain	2
7	Ireland	1
	France	1
	Luxembourg	1
	Netherlands	1
	Portugal	1
	Slovenia	1
	Slovakia	1
	Switzerland	1
	United Kingdom	1

Accidents

Throughout the history of Tour de Pologne, two fatal accidents involving riders participating in the race occurred:

• On 18 September 1967, 22-year-old Polish rider Jan Myszak (Legia Warsaw) died as a result of head injury sustained in an accident on 17 September during the third stage of the race from Przemyśl to Sanok.
• On 5 August 2019, 22-year-old Belgian rider Bjorg Lambrecht (Lotto–Soudal) died in a crash 60 miles from the end of the third stage of the race from Chorzów to Zabrze. He was taken by helicopter to hospital but died later on the same day during a surgery as a result of internal hemorrhage.

Records and trivia

• The longest race was the 10th edition of Tour de Pologne which consisted of 13 stages and had the total length of 2311 km while the shortest race was the 6th edition which consisted of 4 stages and had the total length of 606 km.
• In 2014, Jonas van Genechten set the record for the fastest speed (80 kph) attained when crossing the finishing line during the fourth stage of the race in Katowice.
• Ryszard Szurkowski, one of the most successful Polish cyclists, participated in the race between 1968 and 1984 and won a total of 15 stages but never managed to triumph in the general classification.
• There are four types of jerseys worn during the race: yellow jersey is worn by the leader of the general classification, pink jersey is worn by the leader of the mountains classification, white jersey is worn by the leader of sprints classification and navy blue jersey is worn by the leader of the active rider classification.
• Each year, around 3.5 million spectators gather along the route of Tour de Pologne to watch the race.
• The race is broadcast to over 100 countries in 20 language versions.
• On the last day of the race, amateurs can take part in Tour de Pologne Amatorów, a special race open to everyone which is organized along the same route where professional riders compete.
• Only two riders in the history of the race (Józef Stefański in 1929 and Bolesław Napierała in 1937) completed the whole race wearing the yellow jersey.
• The smallest time difference in the final general classification was 0:00:02 between Jon Izagirre and Bart De Clercq in 2015 and between Dylan Teuns and Rafał Majka in 2017.
• Two winners of Tour de Pologne have also won the UCI Road World Championships: Michał Kwiatkowski (2014) and Peter Sagan (2015, 2016, 2017).

See also

In Spanish: Tour de Polonia para niños

• Sport in Poland
• Tour of Małopolska
• UCI WorldTour
• Road cycling
• Bicycling terminology

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