There will be 23 teams lined up at the start, including the 16 World Tour formations representing world cycling’s elite for a total of 138 riders from every part of the world: Europe, North and South America, Australia, Asia and Africa. There will be plenty of stars in the race, including 2013 Giro d’Italia pink jersey Vincenzo Nibali and the winner of the 2012 Tour de France Bradley Wiggins. Then there’s Ivan Basso, Fabian Cancellara, Michele Scarponi, Rigoberto Uran, Thor Hushovd and many more.
For the first time the number of riders for team will be 6 as opposed to the usual 8 as required by the new pilot project of UCI designed to highlight the excitement and attractiveness of each day of racing.
“I spent many years of my life in Italy, growing as a cyclist and garnering some of the most brilliant results of my career” says the TdP General Director Czeslaw Lang. “For me this is a dream come true; the Dolomites have written the pages of cycling legend and this is why I’ve always wanted to be able to bring the Tour de Pologne here to take on these climbs. We’d like to thank all our partners and especially Trentino Sviluppo (the Division of Tourism Development and Promotion of Trentino), which in 2013 is the official partner of the Tour de Pologne for the fourth year in a row, because without their contribution it wouldn’t be possible to make this project a reality.”
“I’m sure here in Trentino there will be two great days for the Tour de Pologne” explains the Trentino Council Member Tiziano Mellarini. “This partnership underscores Poland’s interest in Trentino and Trentino’s interest in Poland. It is an important opportunity for both parties. For us it will be further occasion to promote our territory to foreign markets, particularly Poland. Polish tourists feel right at home in Trentino and have shown a deep appreciation for this land and the beauty of our mountains, as well as everything we have to offer to tourists.”
Source: Lang Team
Photo © Riccardo Scanferla