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Tour de Pologne: when cycling meets art and nature

The Tour de Pologne is an all-round experience, an ever-evolving race that concluded its 78th edition about three weeks ago, with a win by Joao Almeida (DQT), and is already working on a new and renewed adventure to be held from July 30th to August 5th, 2022.

Cycling is actually more than just two wheels, it is a place where beauty, speed and effort can be transformed into emotions thanks to photography.

A picturesque scenery like Poland perfectly suits the Tour de Pologne, so bound up with traditions and the enhancement of polish beauty. The stages usually go through small rural towns nestled in the hills and enchanting forests, proving that this territory is perfect to design a complete route for a stage race.

The different conformation allows plenty of solutions for every type of rider, such as exciting climbers’ finishes on Tatra Mountains, puncheurs’ stages with well-known finishes or individual time trials immersed in a beautiful ancient Renaissance setting.

A variety of scenery that allows you to keep the suspense of GC contenders alive until the finish line and have the best riders for all type of stages.

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Tour de Pologne 2021 – 78th Edition – 5th stage Chocholow – Bielsko-Biala 172,8 km – 13/08/2021 – photo Dario Belingheri/BettiniPhoto©2021

Lights and shadows

Seven – or more – hours in the saddle are enough time to ride through countless light conditions and that’s why the photos can tell the story of a stage in such an emotional way.

Photographers are masters of light and as such know how to handle it, creating the perfect atmosphere, something dramatic and extraordinary that manages to capture the moment.

Poland is a land with a special light, especially when the shadows become long in the afternoon and the red and white houses stand out in the countryside, turning the passage of the race into an oil painting.

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Tour de Pologne 2021 – 78th Edition – 7th stage Zabrze – Krakow 145,1 km – 15/08/2021 – Scenery – photo Dario Belingheri/BettiniPhoto©2021

The colours

The Polish streets are tinged with the tones of the many fans and national flags that blend in with the race.

Poland is a place full of colour with its old towns, typical houses and traditional costumes surrounded by nature with deep blue August skies and fields of cut wheat. Perfect inspiration for unforgettable shots.

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Tour de Pologne 2021 – 78th Edition – 2nd stage Zamosc – Przemysl 200,8 km – 10/08/2021 – – photo Dario Belingheri/BettiniPhoto©2021

Lines and composition 

The human eye is capable of finding infinite visions of reality and this also applies to the camera with which the photographer identifies hidden geometries on the roads and in a time trial, transforming it into a work of art by offering a new perspective of the race in which the spectator discovers a new way of interpreting the race.

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Tour de Pologne 2021 – 78th Edition – 7th stage Zabrze – Krakow 145,1 km – 15/08/2021 – Scenery – photo Dario Belingheri/BettiniPhoto©2021

Nature 

Poland’s diversity in nature is amazing and it’s due to the many elements that have formed the country over millions of years. Incredible rocks, rare plants and animals, sand dunes and extensive bogs and marshes: glaciers and volcanoes have created an incredible variety of landscapes across the nation.

From the sandy beaches of the Baltic Sea coast to the high peaks of the Carpathian, this land is also famous for its pristine forests and crystalline lakes

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Tour de Pologne 2021 – 78th Edition – 4th stage Tarnow – Bukovina Resort 159,9 km – 12/08/2021 – – photo Dario Belingheri/BettiniPhoto©2021

Through the artistic shots of the Tour de Pologne 2021 we want to relive this unique atmosphere in which the last ray of sunshine envelops the winner’s interview while we are enraptured by the colours of a sunflowers’ field. In Poland tradition and modernity are skillfully blended in the many architectural structures inspiring artists with futuristic perspectives.

Enjoy.