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Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team returns to WorldTour racing at Tour de Pologne

Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team will bring a strong and versatile team to the 80th edition of the Tour de Pologne will take place from July 29 to August 4, 2023. 

27 July 2023

Our Swiss-registered team arrives at its third World Tour stage-race of the season on a high, after Mark Donovan claimed the overall victory on the 2023 Sibiu Tour earlier in the month.

The 24-year-old Brit will be making is Tour de Pologne debut looking to capitalise on his good form and will be supported in the hillier terrain by Norwegian Carl Fredrik Hagen, who returns to racing after a solid block of altitude training in Andorra.

Local stars Kamil Małecki and Szymon Sajnok will be racing at home and bring important local knowledge to our seven-rider roster. Małecki, who finished 6th in the GC in the 2020 edition of Tour de Pologne and had an impressive stint in the KOM jersey last year, is excited to return to his home race, this time in the colours of Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team.

“It’s a really special race for me”

“It will be my 3rd Tour de Pologne. It’s a really special race for me and I have great memories from my previous two participations. In my debut I was 6h in the GC so it was unforgettable. The second time I was fighting for the KOM jersey which I only lost in the last day so it was also an amazing moment. It’s my home race so I enjoy a lot of support from my family and friends. I spent two weeks in Livigno at the team’s altitude training camp. I did my best preparation to start Tour de Pologne in good shape so I hope I have the opportunity to show my shape!” said Małecki, who will be joined in Poland by countryman Szymon Sajnok. The Polish rider will partner up with Italian Matteo Moschetti and both will target the sprint stages.

“We’ll have a really strong team with Matteo (Moschetti) and Szymon (Sajnok) for the sprints and Mark Donovan, who had a great Sibiu Tour, will be, I’m sure fighting for the GC. My goal is to help my teammates but also try and take the opportunities to be in the breakaways if the Sport Directors decide to give me that chance. I hope to be able to fight for a stage win and who, knows, maybe compete for the KOM jersey,” concluded Małecki.

Former Swedish Time-trial champion Tobias Ludvigsson will provide valuable all-round support and target the individual time trial on the penultimate stage.

Completing Q36.5 Pro Cycling team’s roster for the seven-day race is Kiwi Jack Bauer who brings a wealth of experience and versatility to support the team’s goals across all terrains.

Leadership on the road

“We’re very motivated and I believe we have a really strong team. For the GC we have Mark Donovan who did a very strong Sibiu Tour and also Carl Fredrik Hagen who will be probably the biggest support in the climbing stages. We have Matteo Moschetti and Szymon Sajnok which are two good cards to play on the sprint stages and hopefully can achieve good results. In terms of the overall, if Donovan finishes the race in the top-10 I believe this would be a really good result,” said Sports Director Piotr Wadecki.

The 2023 Tour de Pologne will start and end in Poznan and will cover a total distance of 1314.9 km over seven stages.

The prestigious WorldTour race will start on Saturday with a relatively flat 183.7 km stage that should see the sprinters fighting for glory on the Automobil Klub racetrack in Poznań. Stage 2 features a flat first part but two cat-2 climbs and an 11km finishing climb in Karpacz, called he “Wailing Wall” will likely see the GC contenders come to the fore. Stage 3 on Monday will feature three cat-2 climbs and over 3000 meters of climbing.

The sprinters will have another change to shine on Stage 4 before the mountains return on Stage 5 which finishes in Bielsko-Biala.

The penultimate stage will be an 16.6km individual time trial held in the city centre of Katowice. The 80th edition of the Tour de Pologne will conclude with the traditional stage to Krakow which should see the sprinter teams try to control the race for the desired bunch sprint finale.

Tour de Pologne 2023 – Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team Roster:

Jack Bauer (NZL)
Mark Donovan (GBR)
Carl Fredrik Hagen (NOR)
Tobias Ludvigsson (SWE)
Kamil Małecki (POL)
Matteo Moschetti (ITA)
Szymon Sajnok (POL)

Tour de Pologne 2023 – Stages:

Saturday 29th July, Stage 1: Poznan – Poznan, 183.7km
Sunday 30th July, Stage 2: Leszno – Karpacz, 202.9km
Monday 31st July, Stage 3: Walbrzych – Duszniki-Zdroj, 163.3km
Tuesday 1st August, Stage 4: Strzelin – Opole, 198.6km
Wednesday 2nd August, Stage 5: Pszczyna – Bielsko-Biala, 198.8km
Thursday 3rd August, Stage 6: Katowice – Katowice (ITT) 16.6km
Friday 4th August, Stage 7: Zabrze – Krakow, 166.6km