Krakow: UAE Team Emirates’ Fabio Aru is back in action at the Tour of Poland from August 4-10 as he looks to build upon his top 10 finish at last week’s Tour de Wallonie.
The Italian finished fifth in his last Tour of Poland ride in 2015.
This year’s race acts as part of his preparation for the Vuelta a Espana from August 25 to September 16. Joining Aru will be teammates Valerio Conti, Edward Ravasi and Simone Consonni, Rui Costa, Sven Erik Bystrom and Przemyslaw Niemiec. Aru said: “I will arrive in Poland having regained a good racing rhythm in the Tour de Wallonie. The route for the Tour of Poland is well suited to my skills and could help me find an even better pedal stroke. There are four climbing fractions; it would be nice for the team and for me to manage to obtain some significant results. The team line-up features some excellent climbers, so we can aim for some satisfying achievements. This is also an important event in consideration of the Vuelta; it is a crucial step in preparing for the Spanish race.”
Elsewhere, UAE Team Emirates’ Dan Martin will compete in the Clasica de San Sebastian in Spain on August 4 following a successful recent Tour de France top 10 finish. Having picked up the most combative rider award in France, he will now head to the Basque country with teammates; Kristijan Durasek, Diego Ulissi, Alexandr Riabushenko, Manuele Mori, Jan Polanc and Vegard Stake Laengen.
Maxtin said: “For lots of riders the Clasica San Sebastián is an opportunity to take advantage of the physical conditioning they’ve built up during the Tour de France. Our line-up will include two riders who have recently raced in the Grande Boucle; Daniel Martin, who was outstanding and always combative in France, and Kristijan Durasek, who is also very consistent on French climbs.
“We will also have Diego Ulissi, who has the skills to be an important rider in this race and proved recently at Prudential Ride London that he is in top form. But the competition is going to be fierce. It will be essential to make it to the final in a good position and with enough energy left to spend on what, in these last few years, has turned out to be the crucial part of the route — the climb on Murgil Tontorra.”
