PREVIEW | Tour de Pologne 2023 - Top climbers and sprinters gather ahead of World Championships and Vuelta a Espana

Preview. From the 30th of July to the 4th of August the Tour de Pologne will be on the road. Right after the Tour de France and right before the World Championships, the Polish race marks an important transition week in a packed section of the season.

The race begins in Poznan with a stage for the sprinters. Stages two and three will see the battle for the overall classification begin with hilltop finishes at Karpacz and Duszniki-Zdrój, two stages which can be crucial for the overall classification, specially for those looking to anticipate the time-trial. Stage 4 sees once again a day for the fast men into Opole.

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On the fifth day of racing the riders go through it's final hilly day. It is the traditional ride into Bielsko-Biala with a slight uphill finish which usually ends in a sprint, however this time around the 198-kilometer stage features quite a few difficult climbs beforehand. Stage 6 will be the queen stage, a 16.8-kilometer time-trial in Katowice where big gaps will be created, before reaching the final day in Krakow where the sprinters will fight for another win.

The Favourites

INEOS Grenadiers - Two teams stand out in terms of depth. One is INEOS, they come in with the lineup that is expected at the Vuelta a Espana. Michal Kwiatkowski perhaps not but he comes from a great Tour de France where he won the summit finish at the Grand Colombier. Geraint Thomas, Pavel Sivakov, Thymen Arensman and Laurens de Plus will all be present and allow the team to deploy many different tactics, whilst also having firepower for the time-trial which could prove decisive.

UAE Team Emirates - The other is UAE Team Emirates with 2021 winner João Almeida. The time-trialing and climbing will suit him relatively well, but UAE also has strong support or second card in Brandon McNulty. The presence of Tim Wellens and Rafal Majka will also give more climbing firepower, if they find themselves with good form than valuable GC riders as well.

The startlist will feature a few time-trialists that can climb (or with the opposite terminology). Time-trial world champion Tobias Foss certainly will be dangerous if he finds his best form. Matteo Sobrero will also be pointed towards the time-trial, whilst in the climber field you will find Damiano Caruso, Lennard Kämna and Ilan van Wilder can also be quite dangerous and big favourites for the GC.

Then we'll have Matej Mohoric, Sergio Higuita, Lenny Martínez, Eddie Dunbar, Max Poole, Oscar Onley and Lennert van Eetvelt as outsiders. They will have to contest their run for the overall win in the hilly terrain, but all of these riders individually has the quality to take big wins in this field. It'll make for a dynamic battle that will be fought throughout most likely four stages.

Other big figures

The race will also feature strong sprinters with the return of Sam Bennett to World Tour racing. He will be challenged by the likes of Tim Merlier and Olav Kooij who will be the main favourites for the sprints.

Other fast men include Pascal Ackermann, Gerben Thijssen, Fernando Gaviria, Jakub Mareczko, Stanislaw Aniolkowski, Matteo Moschetti and Arvid de Kleijn. Stefan Bissegger comes perhaps as the main favourite for the time-trial.

Prediction Tour de Pologne 2023 overall classification:

*** João Almeida, Lennard Kämna
** Michal Kwiatkowski, Geraint Thomas, Tobias Foss
* Brandon McNulty, Thymen Arensman, Pavel Sivakov, Matej Mohoric, Damiano Caruso, Sergio Higuita, Ilan van Wilder, Matteo Sobrero, Max Poole

Pick: João Almeida