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Tour de Pologne, Poland
12 - 18 September
Preview
![Overall Map](javascript:ImagePopup("../../map/2005/PologneTour.gif", 420, 379, "Overall Map");){kind=link}
Stages
12 September, Stage 1, Gdansk - Elblag, 149.6K, Map
13 September, Stage 2, Tczew - Olsztyn, 226.5K, Map
14 September, Stage 3, Ostróda - Bydgoszcz, 212.0K, Map
15 September, Stage 4, Inowroclaw - Leszno, 213.4K, Map
16 September, Stage 5, Wroclaw - Szklarska Poreba, 200.3K, Map
17 September, Stage 6, Piechowice - Karpacz, 153.0K, Map
18 September, Stage 7, Jelenia Góra - Karpacz, 61.0K, Map
18 September, Stage 8, Jelenia Góra - Karpacz, 19.0K, Map
![Map](javascript:ImagePopup("../../map/2005/PologneTour1.gif", 664, 425, "Stage Map");){kind=link}
![Map](javascript:ImagePopup("../../map/2005/PologneTour2.gif", 664, 425, "Stage Map");){kind=link}
![Map](javascript:ImagePopup("../../map/2005/PologneTour3.gif", 664, 425, "Stage Map");){kind=link}
![Map](javascript:ImagePopup("../../map/2005/PologneTour4.gif", 664, 425, "Stage Map");){kind=link}
![Map](javascript:ImagePopup("../../map/2005/PologneTour5.gif", 664, 425, "Stage Map");){kind=link}
![Map](javascript:ImagePopup("../../map/2005/PologneTour6.gif", 664, 425, "Stage Map");){kind=link}
![Map](javascript:ImagePopup("../../map/2005/PologneTour7.gif", 664, 425, "Stage Map");){kind=link}
![Map](javascript:ImagePopup("../../map/2005/PologneTour8.gif", 664, 425, "Stage Map");){kind=link}
![2004 Winner, Ondrej Sosenka](javascript:ImagePopup("../../photo/2004/PologneTour/raceFinalOverallWinnerSosenka.jpg", 600, 398, "2004 Winner, Ondrej Sosenka"); "2004 Winner, Ondrej Sosenka, photo: Tour de Pologne")
2004 Winner, Ondrej Sosenka, photo: Tour de Pologne
This year the Tour de Pologne really takes a step up in status. Last year the race was 2.2 ranked, and this year it has joined the new ProTour schedule. What that means is that there will be a slew of international teams descending on Poland to make one hotly contested stage race. Riders like Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) will be on the start line to secure ProTour points.
The 62nd Tour de Pologne, or Dookola Polski, kicks off Monday 12 September in Gdansk, near the Baltic sea. While the three week long Vuelta a Espaņa is taking place in Spain, the riders in Poland will have a shorter and punchier race. From Gdansk, stage 1, the peloton heads south towards the final destination, Karpacz. Along the way they will cover eight stages in seven days (the final day being a double stage), for a total of 1246.5K.
![Di Luca](javascript:ImagePopup("../../photo/2005/Giro/14/GreinDiLuca2.jpg", 600, 399, "Di Luca"); "Di Luca for ProTour Points, photo: Christine Grein, Capture-The-Peloton.com")
Di Luca for ProTour Points, photo: Capture-The -Peloton.com
The race has a mellow start, over the first four stages, with the real bang coming in final stages. In southwest Poland, near Wroclaw, the damage will be done. It is here in the Karkonosze mountains that the riders will face the final GC battles, stages 5 to 8. Stages 5 to 7 consist of circuits where the riders will repeatedly face some tough climbing.
Stage 5 ends with an on slot of climbs, stage 6 is up an down all day and stage 7 will be another mountain top finish. Any rider showing up in Poland with good form has a chance at running away with the race win. The problem will be the late season and tired legs, making some good racing. The final nail in the coffin is the double day, 18 September. In the afternoon the riders will face a 19K long mountain TT that ends at 800 meters, after a sharp 5K ascent to Orlinek.
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