Vittoria to be a technical partner of the 79th Tour de Pologne
The collaboration between the Polish race and the Italian brand continues, now with a universal message of peace.
– Free, united, conflict-free cycling. These are the values that strengthen the partnership between the Tour de Pologne UCI World Tour and Vittoria, once again confirmed as technical partner of the Polish race for the 2022 edition. A bond made even more intense by the difficult situation that Europe is going through.
“Vittoria’s job is to support the organisers and provide a professional racing service for all athletes and all types of intervention required,” says René Timmermans, Vittoria’s commercial director. “Our work is also strongly linked to the passion for this sport and the values it relentlessly conveys. Unity, for example, team spirit, the feeling of being part of the same world and living it together. This encourages us to always give our best to ensure that sport becomes an increasingly effective way of sharing universal messages.”
At the beginning of April, the service bus made a journey to Lviv where 200,000 refugees arrived in search for safety from all over the country. Here they delivered food and medicine and rescued and brought back women and children. A feat that will remain in the company’s history and that unites it even more with the symbolic race of a nation that is continually on the front line to give asylum to refugees.
On hearing the news of the conflict in Ukraine, Vittoria’s CEO Stijn Vriends reacted immediately to help the population in need by putting the efficiency of the race service, which for years has been a valuable support for the racing riders, to transport humanitarian aid to the border.
“What Vittoria’s race service has done in recent weeks has opened our hearts and makes us even more proud to have partners of this calibre,” says Czeslaw Lang. “Cycling is not only a sport, it is also a powerful means to spread messages of hope, especially in such a delicate moment. It’s not easy to think about organising the race when war is raging on the other side of the border, but I always try to remember the great champion Gino Bartali who saved 800 people between September 1943 and June 1944 by cycling. The greats who, through small actions, helped to change the world must inspire us.”
“The Tour de Pologne gave us great episodes of humanity,” Timmermans explained further. “Certainly one of the moments I remember most fondly is Remco Evenepoel’s solo ride in 2020 and his dedication to his teammate. Actions that are not taken for granted in modern cycling and which always arouse great emotions. In keeping with tradition, I expect enthusiasm, professionalism and a lot of spectacle again this year.“