“It’s too big a deal to do it without the confidence that I can give 110%” – Michal Kwiatkowski pulls out of Paris Olympic road race due to back pain

The individual time trial marked Kwiatkowski’s fourth participation in the Olympic Games. The Pole’s best result ever in the gold road race came in Tokyo, where he finished eleventh, while Richard Carapaz won the Olympic title for Ecuador.

But with every door that closes, another opens. In Kwiatkowski’s absence, Cofidis sprinter Stanislaw Aniolkowski will defend the Polish hopes in the road race. According to ‘Kwiato’, the 27-year-old has the capacity to fight for medals, despite the high level of competition in the peloton that is smaller than usual on the roads around Paris.

“It’s a very difficult decision to give up the Olympic dream, but Stanisław Aniołkowski is in good shape, he’s a professional and a dedicated rider,” Kwiatkowski estimates of his compatriot’s chances against the likes of Mathieu van der Poel, Mads Pedersen, Tom Pidcock, plus the Belgian duo of Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel, among others. “I really believe he will have a great race. Fingers crossed for him and the whole Polish Olympic team.”

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