One Pro Cycling have earnt their first WorldTour race invite since joining the Pro Continental ranks at the start of the season having been handed a wild card for the Tour of Poland in July.
The team, founded by former England cricket wicketkeeper Matt Prior ahead of the 2015 season, made the jump from the third Continental division to become a second tier Pro Continental squad for 2016.
And now, having already secured invites to a number of high-profile races this season, including the Tour of Dubai, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Criterium International and Tour de Yorkshire, One Pro Cycling will join the top tier for the seven-stage Tour of Poland on July 12-18.
“The Tour of Poland will be one of the main highlights of our season,” said One Pro Cycling sports director Matt Winston. “It will be our first WorldTour race and it comes at a really nice time for us. Seven months into being a Professional Continental team, it will be great to be competing in a WorldTour race and we are thankful to the organisation for giving us an opportunity to do so.”
One Pro Cycling’s roster includes two Polish riders: Marcin Bialoblocki, who won the Tour of Poland’s final stage time trial in 2015 while riding for a Polish national squad, and 26-year-old Karol Domagalski.
“Marcin is having a really good season so far,” said Winston. “He is adapting to life in the Pro Continental ranks and has a number of goals including the Tour of Poland.
“Karol has been a real revelation for the team this year. He can climb, sprint, time trial and also be a great domestique. They are both shaping up really well to be involved in the Tour of Poland.”
Winston added: “The Tour of Pologne is fast becoming one of the biggest races in the world, year on year it continues to grow and this year is proof of that just by the number of teams involved in the race. It will also be major preparation for riders competing at this year’s Olympic Games.
The One Pro Cycling squad also includes nine British riders, as well as Australian Matt Goss, winner of two stages of the Giro d’Italia and a former Milan-San Remo champion.
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