Rafał, thank you!

An outstanding Polish cyclist, Olympic medalist and overall winner of the Tour de Pologne UCI World Tour — Rafał Majka — will end his career this Saturday. The final race for the popular “Zgred” will be the Italian monument Il Lombardia.

For years, he has brought great joy to Polish fans with his riding — both at home and in the biggest international races. He won the overall classification of the Tour de Pologne UCI World Tour and three stages of the Polish race, twice became the best climber of the Tour de France, where he also triumphed on three stages. His achievements include an Olympic bronze medal from Rio de Janeiro, third place in the Vuelta a España and top results in the general classification of other Grand Tours.

We are talking about Rafał Majka, one of the best Polish cyclists in history, for whom this is the final season of his career. During more than a decade in the international UCI World Tour peloton, he built a reputation as one of the best climbers, and in recent seasons served as a top-class domestique.

The Pole announced his decision to retire a few days before the start of the 82nd Tour de Pologne UCI World Tour. “Tour de Pologne is a special race for me — I won it in 2014, now we’re returning to Bukowina and I want to feel that atmosphere again. I want to end my career on top, being in shape. I want my legs to remember that I was at the front, that I had the power and enjoyed it” he said before the race.

And he did exactly that. Although he did not fight for an individual victory, he contributed to the triumph of Brandon McNulty, and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad won the team classification. “It was a beautiful race and I’m happy we could win it as a team. For two years I’ve known this would be my last season — I wanted to finish my career on top, still in great form” said the Pole, who a few months earlier had won the Polish national road race title for the second time in his career.

Now, Rafał Majka faces the final race of his career — Saturday’s Il Lombardia monument, where he will start alongside Tadej Pogacar. The Pole has fond memories of the Italian roads — in 2013 he stood on the podium of Il Lombardia, finishing third.

Rafał, thank you for all the great emotions! See you soon!