The 4th Tour de Pologne Women of the UCI ProSeries rank has begun. The highly competitive start list, full of world cycling stars, also included the Polish national team and MAT ATOM Deweloper Wrocław. Olga Wankiewicz from the Lower Silesian team placed at the forefront of the first stage, and the Polish team is leading in the team classification.
Once again at the start of the Tour de Pologne Women, Polish fans can watch the cyclists of MAT ATOM Deweloper Wrocław – the only Polish team racing with a UCI Continental license. In the first edition of the race, the team’s sports director, Paulina Brzeźna-Bentkowska, took 4th place, and two years ago her result was improved by one position by Katarzyna Wilkos.
Now the athletes of the Wrocław team have once again reported to the start of the competition highly motivated. On the stage from Tomaszów Lubelski to Zamość, Martyna Szczęsna rode actively from the start, and in the finale, Olga Wankiewicz and Sofia Ungerova handled it very well, taking 5th and 8th place, respectively.
“It rained from the beginning; it was actually pouring. It was slippery and there was a moment when my teammates and I were down in a crash, but fortunately we recovered quickly. For those 140 kilometers there was chaos in the peloton, because it was so rainy and slippery. The conditions were not easy” commented Olga Wankiewicz, admitting that 5th place in such a strong field is a very big success.
“I am very satisfied. This fifth place makes me as happy as if I had won, but it is not only my merit, but also the whole team’s. We had the best train today and all the girls did a stellar job – it’s thanks to them that I took this 5th place. Standing at the start, we knew it would be hard to fight in such a competitive race; these girls will soon be riding the Tour de France, the most important race of the season. We knew that a place in the top ten would be a big success, and we fought our way to the fifth position” she added.
During Friday’s stage, everything went according to the expectations of the athletes and the management of the MAT ATOM Deweloper Wrocław team, and the plan was more than fulfilled.
“Our assumption was for 4 riders to try to attack, and two were supposed to save themselves for the finish. Martyna Szczęsna managed to break away; she was escaping for most of the stage, so the plan was executed. Later the groups split up on the last climb, we had 4 riders in the front and decided that we would lead out Olga. We had a bit of luck, and you could say the plan succeeded. We looked at our chances realistically. It is known that the appetite is always for victory, but analyzing the Tour de Pologne Women start list we would be happy with a place in the ‘top 10’, and on the first stage we have 2 riders in the lead. A revelation” admitted Paweł Bentkowski, the team’s sports director.
Both Olga Wankiewicz and Paweł Bentkowski admitted that the 4th Tour de Pologne is of great importance for the Polish team. In the UCI ProSeries race, the athletes compete in front of their home crowd against the world’s top riders, and thanks to television broadcasts on TVP, Eurosport, and the HBO Max streaming platform, the broadcast signal from the route reaches fans in 65 countries.
“For me, this is the most important race of the season due to the fact that it is in Poland and in front of the Polish public. Almost 30 sponsors from the MAT ATOM Deweloper Wrocław club came to this race, so it would be nice to show ourselves in front of them. My fiancé and parents are also here, so that gives me an extra kick. In the coming days, we will fight for the highest possible places on the stage, but not only that. I was fifth, but we have girls in the ‘top 20’, so we will try to maintain a high place in the general classification,” said Olga Wankiewicz.
“The race means a lot to us. This is the 4th or 5th UCI ProSeries race of our team this season, so you could say that we have prepared quite a bit for this start. Apart from the national championships, this is our most important race – it is in front of our home crowd, most of our sponsors arrived, they cheer for us live, and they sleep in the hotel with us, so it is important for us” admitted Paweł Bentkowski.
There are 2 stages left to the end of the 4th Tour de Pologne Women. On Saturday, the athletes will compete on the route from Włodawa to Lubartów, and everything will conclude with the section from Janowiec to Lublin on Sunday, July 26.