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The downhill sprint at Katowice was known in the peloton for being the fastest on the UCI WorldTour calendar, and riders had been warning of danger for years. However, we had to regret the serious accident in which Fabio Jakobsen (600) hit the barriers at more than 80 km per hour to see it finally eliminated from the Tour de Pologne route. In addition, the organization has made several more changes to the route, and has announced new barriers at the arrivals, also with the goal of improving safety.

Route

The race is made up of seven stages. Three of them are flat and seem destined for bunch sprints, and another three stages have mid-mountain profiles with uphill finishes that benefit puncheurs more than big climbers. Finally, the 18 km time trial on the penultimate day will surely be decisive for the general classification.

Favorites

For the flat stages, the main favorites are Pascal Ackermann (1000) and Fernado Gaviria (800), although the startlist also includes many other fast men: Sonny Colbrelli (600), Phil Bauhaus (400), Edward Theuns (400) , Maximilian Walscheid (600), John Degenkolb (600), Álvaro José Hodeg (400), Iván García Cortina (600) or Andrea Pasqualon (400) are among the most prominent.

The big favorite for the GC seems João Almeida (1200), and his main rivals should be the riders of Ineos Grenadiers Geraint Thomas (1000) and Tao Geoghegan Hart (800). Diego Ulissi (1000), Jay Hindley (600), Tim Wellens (600), Antwan Tolhoek (400) or the young Tobias Foss (400) and Attila Valter (400) also have the qualities to contest it.