Giro d’Italia winner to ride WorldTour race which starts in the Italian mountains
Having confirmed that he will be missing the Tour de France in favour of the Vuelta a España en route to the World championships, Giro d’Italia winner Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) has been confirmed as a starter in the Tour of Poland, which runs between July 27th and August 3rd. Having conquered the Giro thanks to his prowess in the mountains, Nibali will be among the early favourites in the East European WorldTour, since it begins with two stages in that very terrain.
"We were very happy to learn that pink jersey Vincenzo Nibali will be participating in the Tour de Pologne,” explained race director Czeslaw Lang. “For us it's a matter of great pride to know that the king of the Giro will be at the start of our race, all the more so because this year we're starting off from Italy with two beautiful stages in Trentino near those same mountains where Nibali carved out his pink success.
“The Dolomites have written memorable pages in the history of the Giro and we're sure they'll leave their mark on the Tour de Pologne as well,” Lang added.
With unseasonably bad weather in Europe causing several Italian mountain passes to be closed by snow, the Giro d’Italia organisers were forced to amend, and even cancel some of the latter stages. With the Tour of Poland coming at the end of July, however, the weather should be improved for the two stage finishes to the Madonna di Campiglio, and the Passo Pordoi.
“We're hoping that at the end of July the snow and cold weather that influenced the passage of the Giro on the Dolomites will finally give way to nicer weather and allow us to experience a fantastic edition of the Tour de Pologne,” said Lang.