This year’s Tour de Pologne route book came with an unexpected gift for riders and race followers: a yellow and blue wristband, the colours of the Ukraine flag, to be worn as a gesture of solidarity and support for Poland’s neighbour in its arduous battle against the Russian invasion.
Many members of the organisation and peloton are now wearing the wristbands during the seven-day race, but the Tour de Pologne’s (opens in new tab) show of support for Ukraine runs far deeper.
Five of the seven stages, from Saturday to Wednesday, have been deliberately designed to run close to Ukraine through the east and south of the country. Monday’s finish at Pzemysil is 15 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
While some in cycling’s establishment continue to insist that sport and politics should not mix, the Tour de Pologne’s clear solidarity with Ukraine can count on some very powerful allies.
Mark Padun of EF Education-EasyPost is the only Ukrainian rider in the Tour de Pologne peloton this year and he is hugely appreciative of all the support for his country.
“The motto of this year’s race is ‘Race for Peace,'” the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, an honorary patron of the Tour de Pologne, wrote in the preface of the 20022 route book.
“Russia’s brutal invasion of sovereign and independent Ukraine continues right behind our eastern border. Russian troops are committing war crimes that bear the hallmarks of genocide. People are dying in the shelled and bombed cities, children are dying and athletes are dying too.”
Duda thanked the organisers for Pologne’s support not only “for the idea of peace,” but also “to demonstrate your solidarity with the Ukrainians fighting for their freedom.”
“In the first weeks of the war, most refugees made their way precisely to such cities and towns as Lublin, Chelm, Zamosc, Krasnik, Przemysil, Lesko, Sanok, Lancut and Rzeszow,” he explained, the start of finish town of the opening five stages.
“May the race between these cities be a great gesture of remembrance of the cities destroyed in Ukraine by the barbaric Russian invaders.”
Padun is hugely appreciative of all the support for his country.
“I saw all these bracelets with the Ukrainian flag in the route book and when I checked the southern part of the route and saw stages go really close to the border, I was like, wow, that’s something amazing,” he told Cyclingnews and another reporter present at the race.
Padun doesn’t just appreciate the geographical connections, he has direct personal…
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