Poland names squad for 2014 World Road Championships

autor: Paweł Gadzała :: 19 września 2014, 23:18@8aldwin

Kwiatkowski to lead ambitious team in Ponferrada

Michał Kwiatkowski has been named the leader of Poland’s nine-men squad for elite men road race at 2014 World Championships. 24-year-old will spearhead possibly the strongest team Poland has ever had and will be trying to conclude what has been so far the best season for Polish cycling in decades.

Kwiatkowski attended his first ever altitude camp prior to starting Tour of Britain, where he placed 2nd overall and won a stage. With 3rd place in both Liege-Bastogne-Liege and La Fleche Wallone under his belt this year, he will be looking to use his versatility on the hilly round in Spanish Ponferrada.

OPQS rider may be counted among race favourites by some, however he has finished the elite men road race only once in history of his starts in World Championships.

Squad named by Piotr Wadecki includes five more ProTour riders and is expected to work for Kwiatkowski. Time-triallist Maciej Bodnar (Cannondale), former Polish National Champion Michał Gołaś (Omega Pharma-Quick Step), Vuelta a Espana stage winner Przemysław Niemiec (Lampre-Merida) and Tinkoff-Saxo’s rookie Paweł Poljański will all wear white and red jersey on the last Sunday of September, united by one goal – putting Kwiatkowski in the best possible position to fight for the rainbow jersey.

They will be supported by Bartosz Huzarski (Team NetApp-Endura), Tour of Norway winner Maciej Paterski (CCC Polsat Polkowice), Michał Podlaski (ActiveJet Team) and latest Omega Pharma-Quick Step signing – Łukasz Wiśniowski.

Rafała Majka, winner of polka dot jersey and two stages of 2014 Tour de France, has not been included, for his end of the season came straight after Tour de Pologne triumph and USA Pro Challenge in late August.

Bodnar and Mateusz Taciak (CCC Polsat Polkowice) will challenge 47.1 km route of the individual time trial.

To the day, Zbigniew Spruch remains the only individual Polish medallist of World Championships. His silver medal from Plouay (2000) is one of the few records in the history of Polish cycling that Majka and Kwiatkowski hasn’t yet tackled.

Poland will also be fighting for a top placings in elite women road race. Six-rider team presents a combination of youth and experience, as well as confidence gained at world’s biggest events.

Rabo Liv’s Katarzyna Niewiadoma is looking forward to staying with selected group of favourites, as she did in stage races throughout the year. 19-year-old climber will be accompanied by experienced rider and her mentor Paulina Brzeźna-Bentkowska, Eugenia Bujak (BTC City Ljubljana), Premondiale Giro della Toscana stage winner Małgorzata Jasińska (Ale Cipollini), Polish National Champion Paulina Guz and Anna Plichta, who showed a lot of promise with 10th place in Internationale Thuringen Rundfahrt der Frauen (2.1) and 12th in Tour de l’Ardeche (2.1).

Boels Dolmans’s Katarzyna Pawłowska, double women’s scratch World Champion, and Bujak will participate in elite women time trial.

picture credit: wowo brylla/rowery.org

powiązane:Michał Kwiatkowski