Polish President Karol Nawrocki will attend the closing ceremony of the Tour de Pologne cycling race on Sunday, August 9, the Presidential Chancellery confirmed. The final 12.5-kilometer stage starts and finishes near the well-known Wieliczka salt mine.
The Chancellery said Nawrocki would first meet residents of Skawina before heading to the Wieliczka salt mine to take part in the award ceremony for the winners of the 83rd Tour de Pologne.
First presidential visit to the race
According to Przeglad Sportowy Onet, the president of Poland had always received an invitation to the Tour de Pologne, but neither Andrzej Duda nor, before him, Bronisław Komorowski had ever taken it up. The outlet reported that organizers see Nawrocki's decision to attend as a major honor and a significant logistical challenge.
An unnamed race organizer said they had given Poland's State Protection Service the license plates of all vehicles authorized to access the route, the names of accredited people, and details of television coverage, including drone and helicopter flight paths, adding that they understood the significance of the visit.
In the race's official book, Nawrocki wrote that the Tour de Pologne's current standing in world cycling was a great success for its organizers, thanked them for their effort, and singled out race director Czesław Lang, who has overseen the event for more than 30 years, saying the race's history was intertwined with that of a free Poland.
