Michal Kwiatkowski: "It’s been the worst season ever"

Michal Kwiatkowski has had a great win at Amstel Gold Race this year, however his season has been constantly hit by illnesses and injuries which have led the INEOS Grenadiers rider to have very bad feelings towards it's finale.

“It’s been the worst season ever. I’ve been struggling with sicknesses, injuries. At the end of the day, I decided just to race and finish the season with some race days because I miss that a lot," Kwiatkowski told Cyclingnews. The Pole suffered several setbacks throughout the year which have not only kept him out of the Tour de France but of all Grand Tours, as several others emerged and had the liberty to perform.

Kwiatkowski is one of the British team's most reliable riders, and has for large years been a key part of it's classics and Grand Tour lineups. He has been quite absent this year, as he justifies: “COVID-19, flu, hamstring injury, concussion… it all came after a period of preparation just before I was ready to win races. It was tough not only physically, but also mentally.

"That’s why I’m so happy to just be at the race. Even if my condition is bad, I’m still enjoying being here with the boys," he said before the start of the fifth stage of the Tour of Britain, which ended up being the last as the race was afterwards cancelled, with teammate Richie Porte closing his career in unexpected fashion.

Such statements come as a surprise taking into account his brilliant performance at Amstel Gold Race, but he reports that is was not as good of a period as it may have seemed: “That cost me so much, just to prepare for the Classics. I know how I struggled, and my family struggled, with sicknesses and different things, then after that period, the injury and crash came. It was just a terrible experience. Even though I won Amstel, it was tough.”

He will skip the World Championships, however is still scheduled to race later on this year. “I’m not ready to perform at the Worlds, so I will skip that. Instead hopefully I can race Croatia [CRO Race], Paris-Bourges and Paris-Tours. If I’m not going to the Worlds, I can have more race days and just enjoy racing," he said. “The team, the family and everyone. It’s just good to have people around you,” he said. “They always believe in you. Let’s hope I can turn everything back in 2023," Kwiatkowski concluded.