Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Michal Kwiatkowski Eyes Cobbles Return in 2018

-

HomeOtherPress ReleasesMichal Kwiatkowski Eyes Cobbles Return in 2018

Michal Kwiatkowski is hoping to tackle the Tour of Flanders this season as he looks to continue his momentum following a standout 2017 campaign.

The Pole enjoyed arguably the best 12 months of his career with marquee victories at Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo and Clasica San Sebastian, before heading to the Tour de France to help wingman Chris Froome to a fourth title.

After a winter of hard training the 27 year old is ready to go again, starting with the upcoming Vuelta a Valenciana.

Michal Kwiatkowski
Michal Kwiatkowski. Photo©Team Sky

Explained Kwiatkowski on his Flanders hopes;

“I was just missing cobbles… the Classics for me are pure racing and Tour of Flanders is just an amazing race. I was able to race there before, and also for Team Sky in 2016. The week before that I won (E3) Harelbeke and I was one of the favourites for the win. I believe I have the ability to fight for the victory. Whatever happens there, together with my teammates, whoever is going to be there, we are able to be there as favourites and future winners. That’s why I want to be a part of it. Let’s hope it’s going to be a good one.”

‘Kwiato’ is under no illusions that topping 2017 will take some doing, but feels that striving for constant improvements should put him right back in the mix for victories.

“Looking at the upcoming season the first thing I’m thinking about is improvements. That word describes everything. Of course it can be difficult to repeat the results I got in 2017, but of course I will be there to train harder, to race better and to race smarter. Let’s hope that will bring even more victories than I had.

“If you look at my race calendar for sure that’s going to be quite similar to the previous season. Of course in the first part I’d love to aim to win Liege-Bastogne-Liege – a race I still haven’t been able to win in my career. That’s going to be the first big goal. On top of that races like Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo again. That’s the first part of the year, and then there’s the Tour and I’d love to be back racing with Team Sky for the victory.”

With the World Championships taking place on hilly Austrian soil in 2018, the 2014 rainbow jersey winner is also eyeing up another big change – taking the road to Innsbruck-Tirol via the Vuelta a Espana.

Laying out some potential hopes for later in the season he added:

“I think a big change would be if I could put a second Grand Tour in a single season. So after the Tour if everything goes well let’s hope I can race the Vuelta and then prepare as best as I can for the World Champs in Austria.”

Understandably Kwiatkowski has fond memories of 2017, and is particularly proud of the consistent high level of form he showed.

“The biggest reflection from 2017 was the way I was racing across the entire season. That was the most important thing for me, that I could actually race at the highest level all the time and I was there in the game to win the races. That was really important for me. And because of that I could win such big races as Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo and San Sebastian. Those were my best moments of the season, and of course the Tour de France was such an amazing race. I never expected from myself that I would be able to be up there for 21 stages, deliver such a performance and help Chris to take the victory. I’m very proud of that and I hope I can improve on every aspect – Grand Tours, Classics – this season.”

Big victories last year were made all the sweeter as Kwiatkowski bounced back from what was, by his own admission, a disappointing season in 2016. Despite not hitting the heights in his first year as a Team Sky rider, he admitted the team’s belief was instrumental in getting him back to his best, and ultimately signing a new three-year contract.

“The support I had from the team was amazing, and that’s why I was able to win such big races. That’s what I love about this team. They don’t give up on you, I don’t give up on them and that’s why I was able to talk about my future with such a team, which stands behind you when you are in trouble, and are there to support you winning the race. It was just a matter of time that there was going to be a signature on the contract and I’m happy that I can be part of the family for the next three years. We can really think, not just about short-term goals in 2018, but think about how my race calendar could look in the next two to three years. That’s great and it gives me the opportunity to think long-term, which can only make me better.”

VeloVeritas
VeloVeritas
Here at VeloVeritas, we provide our readers with truthful, accurate, unique and informative articles about the sport we love. We attend many local races as well as work on the professional circuit, from the local "10" mile time trial to the "monuments" - classics like Milan-SanRemo and the Tour of Lombardy, the World Road and Track Championships, the winter Six Days and the Grand Tours; le Tour de France, il Giro d'Italia and la Vuelta a España.

Related Articles

Chris Froome to be awarded 2017 FT Bidlake Memorial Prize

The 2017 FT Bidlake Memorial Prize has been awarded to Chris Froome in recognition of his achievement of winning the Tour de France for the fourth time, then being the first British rider to win the Vuelta a España in the same year.

Bardiani-CSF (The #GreenTeam) is ready for the Tour of Poland 2016

Bardiani-CSF is going to face a new important event of its season, the Tour of Poland 2016. The short stage race, from July 12 to 18, will be the sixth World Tour race for the #GreenTeam.

Glasgow and Scotland to host inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships 2023

The UCI is delighted to announce that Glasgow and Scotland have been awarded the inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships.The historic and innovative event will take place over two weeks in August 2023.

Ambitious Dylan Van Baarle focused on Classics success in 2018

Dylan Van Baarle has improved each time he has competed at the Tour of Flanders, and in 2017 was knocking on the door of a podium with fourth place. Now 25, the Dutchman is ready to challenge for more on the cobbles, and can’t wait to slot himself into the team’s Classics group.

At Random

Matt Bottrill – National Champion and Record Breaker Joins the Legends

We can’t keep up with that man Matt Bottrill – but then not many can - no sooner had the ink gone dry on this interview we did with him after he won the 25 champs than he’d won the 10 mile champs in the second fastest time ever (17:40) and then added the ‘blue riband’ - the 25 record with 45:43 to join Bonner, Engers, Boardman and Hutchinson as a TT ‘legend.’

Big Race: Small Race

Big Race: Small Race. Mid June has been and gone, and I find myself up in the northeast of Italy once again (Arona to be precise), this time at a couple of tiny one day races. We came through the same area for the finale of the Giro, where Ivan Basso turned the screws over the final few days to win the overall.

La Vuelta a España 2012 – Stage 14: Palas de Rei – Puerto de Ancares 149.2 km

Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) may well be intent on a great feat this year, as today he took his third stage into Puerto de Ancares, taking the race to the others and exploiting his amazing uphill sprinting abilities by out-kicking Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank) at Puerto de Ancares, the first of three consecutive stage summit finishes.

Joshua Cunningham – “I just need to get my arms in the air”

With our Flatlands boys Douglas Dewey and Llewellyn Kinch heading south to race in France for 2013 we decided we’d best have a word with Rayner Fund rider Joshua Cunningham to see what’s happening in Belgium?