United Arab Emirates. Wednesday, 26 July 2017: Former World Champion, Rui Costa will be leading the charge for UAE Team Emirates at the upcoming Tour de Pologne (Tour of Poland). The Portuguese rider, making his race debut, will be joined by Italians Sacha Modolo, Valerio Conti and Roberto Ferrari, Moroccan Anass Ait El Abdia, Slovenian Matej Mohoric and Pole Przemyslaw Niemiec.

 

Commenting on his Tour de Pologne debut, the 2017 Abu Dhabi Tour champion Rui Costa said: “This will be my first time racing at the Tour of Poland. I have been working really hard for the past couple of weeks, undergoing intensive altitude training alongside my teammates on the Passo San Pellegrino. The constant coaching and performance monitoring from the team’s trainers has been immensely helpful and I feel optimistic about the second part of my season. I cannot wait to test my form this coming Saturday.”

 

The 2017 Tour de Pologne starts in Krakow on Saturday 29th July and ends in Bukowina Tatrzanska on Friday 4th August. Consisting of seven stages, the race features 23 categorised climbs with a new addiiton at the third stage, Szczyrk as well as two uphill finishes in Zakopane and a summit finish in Bukowina Tatrzanska. There are four stages that are suitable for sprinters (stages one, two, four and five), while the remaining three are best suited for climbing specialists. 

 

Confirming the line-up, UAE Team Emirates’ Sporting Director Orlando Maini said: “The course this year is different to previous editions which should make for an interesting race. I think stages six and seven will be key for GC contenders like Rui Costa. Costa will lead the charge for the GC while Modolo will be on the hunt for sprint victories. Also in the line-up we have Moroccan Ait El Abdia who has recently come back to racing after suffering an injury in GP Lugano back in May and we are excited about that. All seven of our riders have been away on training and this is their first race of the second part of the season.”

 

TOUR DE POLOGNE STAGES