2026 Tour de Pologne: Route and favourites for the Tour of Poland

​The Tour de Pologne is one of the most traditional stage races on the international cycling calendar. The stage race has been held since 1928 and is now part of the UCI WorldTour. Together with the Clásica San Sebastián, it marks the start of the second major half of the season following the Tour de France and offers many riders their first opportunity to compete at the highest level again after the season’s highlight.

With three overall victories each, the Poles Dariusz Baranowski, Andrzej Mierzejewski and Marian Więckowski top the all-time winners’ list. From a German perspective, Stefan Schumacher (2006) and Jens Voigt (2008) have so far added their names to the list of winners. In recent years, the Tour of Poland has also increasingly become a race for all-rounders, as hilly stages and time-trial-friendly route decisions regularly result in closely fought general classifications.

Key points at a glance

• Date: 3 to 9 August
• Distance: 1,111 kilometres
• Start: Gdynia, Objective: Kopalnia Soli
• Profile: two flat stages, four hilly stages, one individual time trial
• UCI category: WorldTour
• Premiere: 1928, 83rd edition

The route of the 2026 Tour de Pologne

​The 2026 Tour of Poland begins with two stages that are generally well-suited to sprinters. As things stand, the second stage in particular is likely to end in a classic bunch sprint. Although stage one presents a minor challenge in the form of a 1.5-kilometre-long final climb averaging 4.1 per cent, this ascent is not particularly selective. The top sprinters are unlikely to face any serious difficulties there, even if some classics specialists might try to make the finale a little more chaotic.

From the third stage onwards, the nature of the tour changes significantly. Stages three to six take the riders through hilly terrain and feature numerous short climbs that could repeatedly split the peloton. Although the gaps are likely to remain manageable, bonus seconds and isolated attacks could already prove decisive for the general classification.

The race for overall victory will ultimately be decided on the seventh and final stage. The individual time trial begins with a short climb, before the route runs mostly slightly downhill towards the finish. This presents the time trial specialists with the ideal opportunity to turn the race on its head once again. As there is no genuine mountain finish on the programme beforehand, it is expected that numerous riders will go into this finale separated by just a few seconds. The time trial is therefore likely to be by far the most important day in the battle for the overall victory.

These are the favourites for the Tour de Pologne

João Almeida goes into the Tour of Poland as the clear favourite. The Portuguese rider already won the race in 2021 and possesses exactly the qualities required on this year’s route. On the undulating stages with their short climbs, he is among the strongest riders in the field, and in the final time trial he is even one of the absolute specialists. His biggest challenge could well come from within his own team: Jan Christen also has the ability to compete at the front on the undulating stages. Although the Swiss rider is not known as a classic stage-race specialist, he is still likely to have a good chance of remaining in contention for the general classification for a long time on a route without any major mountain stages.

Iván Romeo is one of the main contenders. The Movistar professional is among the world’s best young time trialists and is also exceptionally strong on short, steep climbs. The same applies to Ethan Hayter, who won the race back in 2022 and is likely to pose a particular threat in a tight general classification ahead of the final time trial. Andreas Leknessund is also one to watch. The Norwegian is one of the most versatile riders in the field and possesses the necessary skills for both the hilly stages and the decisive time trial to contend for a podium place or even the overall victory.

Tour de Pologne 2026: TV coverage & live stream

In Germany, the 2026 Tour of Poland will be shown on free-to-air television on Eurosport 1. There will only be breaks in the broadcast when the stages of the Tour de France Femmes enter their decisive phase. The end of the stages can then be watched in the ‘Relive’ programme afterwards on Eurosport 1. The Tour of Poland can also be followed via a paid live stream on Discovery Plus.

The TV broadcast times on Eurosport 1