The Pole makes a sensation in his debut at the Giro d’Italia. A sensation that hasn’t happened for decades!

Stanisław Aniołkowski impresses during this year’s Giro d’Italia. A week ago, the Pole was one step away from winning the stage, and in Thursday’s stage he took fifth place. Can the 27-year-old afford a stage win? – Since I’m second in the stage, I don’t think first place is out of reach – admitted the cyclist in an interview with the portal Naszasosie.pl.

Although for years Stanisław Aniołkowski was considered a great talent, he failed to prove his worth in the colors of foreign teams. After two good, although not outstanding, years in the Belgian Bingoal team, the Pole moved to the American Human Powered Health, where he took an important step forward. In 2024, he became a cyclist of the French Cofidis and this year’s Giro d’Italia race is extremely successful for him.

Stanisław Aniołkowski delights. Can he afford a stage win?

A week ago, the 27-year-old took second place on the 13th stage of the race, and he was very close to victory. A few days later in Padua he was fifth. Anikowski is a sensation in Polish cycling . In recent decades, if we had successful cyclists, they specialized in mountain riding (Rafał Majka, Przemysław Niemiec), individual time trials (Maciej Bodnar) or one-day classics – Michał Kwiatkowski. There hasn’t been a successful sprinter at the Grand Tour level for years.

There are three stages left until the end of the Giro d’Italia – on Friday , May 24, the cyclists will compete on the section between Mortegliano and Sappada, then on Saturday they will compete on the route from Alpago to Bassano del Grappa, and on Sunday, May 26, there will be a race on the streets of Rome , which will also be the final of the Giro competition. The first two stages are not flat, so Anikowski may have problems here with the main group. Sunday is a different matter, as it will be a holiday for sprinters. Winning the final stage is extremely prestigious for the cyclists.

– Since I’m second in the stage, I don’t think first place is out of reach – he admitted in an interview with the portal Naszasosie.pl.  – I worked hard to be able to achieve these results and now I can say that yes, I believe in it. I believe that with a good day and a good positioning at the finish, which is crucial here, I will be able to fight for victory – he also added.

Anikowski is also famous for its characteristic appearance. The 27-year-old has grown a mustache and it is one of his trademarks. Did he want to refer to the figure of Lech Piasecki with his mustache? – That’s exactly what happened (laughter). I planned to win with a mustache, but well, it didn’t work out – he commented.

The leader of the general classification is currently Slovenian Tadej Pogacar. Rafał Majka takes 16th place, and Głoskowski is 128th.

Will Stanisław Aniołkowski win a stage at this year’s Giro?