The 2009 Tour de Pologne was the 66th running of the

Tour de Pologne The Tour de Pologne ( Polish: ''Wyścig Dookoła Polski'', English: ''Tour of Poland'', official abbreviation TdP,) is an annual, professional men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in Poland. It consists of seven or eight stages ...

, in the 81st year since the first edition. The event was part of both the 2009 UCI ProTour and the inaugural

World Calendar The World Calendar is a proposed reform of the Gregorian calendar created by Elisabeth Achelis of Brooklyn, New York in 1930. Features The World Calendar is a 12-month, perennial calendar with equal quarters. Each quarter begins on a Sunday ...

, and ran from 2–8 August, starting in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

and finishing in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. After four stages that were dominated by sprint finishes, World champion

Alessandro Ballan Alessandro Ballan (born 6 November 1979 in Castelfranco Veneto, Veneto) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer who most recently rode for UCI World Tour team . He is best known for winning the World Road Race Championships, in ...

's participation in successful breaks in stages five and six, and bonus time for being first and second respectively in those stages, brought him overall victory.

Stages

There is a circuit of at least two laps on every stage.

Stage 1

2 August 2009 –

, 108 km

Stage 2

3 August 2009 –

Serock Serock is a town at the north bank of the Zegrze lake in the Legionowo County, Masovian Voivodeship The Masovian Voivodeship, also known as the Mazovia Province ( pl, województwo mazowieckie ) is a voivodeship (province) in east-central P ...

to Białystok, 219.1 km This stage was very flat, with only a fourth-category climb near the end. There was a three-lap, 6.5 km circuit at the finish.

Stage 3

4 August 2009 – Bielsk Podlaski to Lublin, 225.1 km This course is mostly flat, though it becomes bumpy at the end. The 4.6 km finishing circuit includes multiple passes over a third-category climb.

Stage 4

5 August 2009 –

Nałęczów Nałęczów is a spa town (population 4,800) situated on the Nałęczów Plateau in Puławy County, Lublin Voivodeship, eastern Poland. Nałęczów belongs to Lesser Poland. History In the 18th century, the discovery there of healing waters i ...

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ; la, Resovia; yi, ריישא ''Raisha'')) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów has been the capital of the Subcarpathian ...

, 239.7 km In a chaotic bunch sprint,

Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen (born 17 May 1987) is a Norwegian professional road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI ProTeam . He was ranked as no. 3 in the world by UCI as of 31 August 2009, when he was 22 years old. He is known as an all-rounder, havin ...

led out teammate

André Greipel André Greipel (born 16 July 1982) is a German former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2021. Since his retirement, Greipel now works as a directeur sportif for UCI Continental team . Born in Rostock, Eas ...

. While Greipel and sprinter Allan Davis grappled for his wheel, Boasson Hagen led on to take the win. Greipel was later relegated, and lost both the yellow and blue jersey to

Jürgen Roelandts Jürgen Roelandts (born 2 July 1985) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2008 and 2020, for the , and squads. He now works as a directeur sportif for his final professional team, . Career In 20 ...

. This course has a sloping profile, with two categorized climbs in the second half of the stage as well as an uncategorized hill coming after about 40 km. There is a three-lap finishing circuit again on this stage; it is 5.9 km long and flat.

Stage 5

6 August 2009 –

Strzyżów Strzyżów is a town in Strzyżów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, along the Wisłok river valley. Strzyżów is one of the towns within the Strzyżowsko-Dynowskie Foothill, located south-east of Kraków and 30 km from Rzesz ...

Krynica-Zdrój Krynica-Zdrój (until 31 December 2001 Krynica, rue, Крениця, uk, Криниця) is a town in Nowy Sącz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It is inhabited by over eleven thousand people. It is the biggest spa town in ...

, 171.5 km This is a high mountain stage, with a first-category climb coming after 105 km. There are two categorized climbs visited repeatedly in the four-lap 14.8 km finishing circuit, with mountains classification points taken for the first pass over them.

Stage 6

7 August 2009 –

Krościenko nad Dunajcem Krościenko nad Dunajcem is a village in southern Poland situated in the Nowy Targ County in Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999 (previously in Nowy Sącz Voivodeship, from 1975 to 1998). Located near Poland's border with Slovakia, it is appro ...

Zakopane Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been ...

, 162.2 km This is the Tour de Pologne's most mountainous stage, with another mountain circuit. This circuit is four laps by 25 km, with two first-category climbs in it. There are two other first-category climbs on the course, so the course has ten first-category climbs.

Stage 7

8 August 2009 –

Rabka-Zdrój Rabka-Zdrój (, in Goral dialects: ''Robka'', colloquially: ''Rabka'') is a spa town in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland. It is located between Kraków and Zakopane in a valley on the northern slopes of the Gorce Mountains, where the rivers Poni ...

, 136.5 km The beginning to this stage is jagged, with a second-category climb after 56 km as well as several uncategorized rises in elevation. The finish comes on a three-lap 4 km circuit which is perfectly flat.

Category leadership table

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:2009 Tour De Pologne

Tour De Pologne The Tour de Pologne ( Polish: ''Wyścig Dookoła Polski'', English: ''Tour of Poland'', official abbreviation TdP,) is an annual, professional men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in Poland. It consists of seven or eight stages ...

Tour de Pologne Tour De Pologne, 2009 August 2009 sports events in Europe