One of the highlights of the UCI Gran Fondo World Series this year is pro rider Rafał Majka’s (UAE TEAM EMIRATES) Majka Gran Fondo weekend in Poland 7-8 May.

Organized personally by the two-time winner of the Tour de France mountain classification and coveted polkadot jersey, the races offered amateur riders the opportunity to qualify for the 2022 amateur world championships in time trial and road events.

The Sunday road race started with over 900 riders in Majka’s hometown of Myślenice, with most taking on the challenging, but short, 105 kilometer route in the Wieliczka Foothills with 1554 meters of climbing.

From the front row, Majka launched race, but it was a day for the youth of the sport to stand tall on the podium. The first rider to cross the finish line was Joachim Mikler (2:38:07) who outsprinted his compatriots Oleksii Kmets and Martin Helcel for victory. All three riders qualified for the world championships in the M19-34 age group and completed the route with an average speed of just below 40km/h.

Also qualifying for the worlds with a strong performance in the F19-34 category were Kamila Wojcikiewicz (3:00:51), Alicja Szopinska (3:02:450 and Karolina Kolkowicz (3:02:46), who finished first, second and third respectively to complete an all Polish women’s podium.

At the 20 kilometer individual time trial on Saturday in Dobczyce, the quickest rider (24:51 at 48.2 km/h) turned out to be 49 year-old Slovenian Igor Kopse, fresh off serving a four-year ban for doping. Reigning world champion Marianna Hall from Warsaw stood on the highest step of the podium for the women, finishing in 27:15 at an average speed of 44 km/h.

Complete UCI Majka Gran Fondo results HERE.

Complete UCI Majka Medio Fondo results HERE.

Complete UCI Majka Time Trial results HERE.

Photos: Majka Gran Fondo