Tour de Pologne mobile museum opens

Czesław Lang, a former Polish Olympic cyclist who has been director of the Tour de Pologne since 1993, said that cyclists were involved in fighting for Poland's independence, which was regained after WWI after more than 120 years of partitions and foreign rule.

The Tour de Pologne race has often designed routes to mark important events in Poland’s history and so marked the Year of Chopin, the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi German death camp and the start of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising.

The museum also showcases bicycles, jerseys, trophies and Lang’s own silver medal from the 1980s Olympics in Moscow.

The mobile museum is part of the Tour de Pologne Roadshow, a series of events dedicated to the race’s anniversary and Poland’s independence. The museum and the roadshow will visit 11 cities across Poland by the end of October.

The Tour de Pologne is an annual seven- or eight-stage race that covers around 1,200 kilometres.

The 2018 Tour de Pologne starts on August 4 and ends on August 10.

Poland will celebrate its independence on 11 November 2018, 100 years after the signing of the armistice that ended the First World War on 11 November 1918 which led to Poland returning to the map of Europe after more than 100 years of partitions and foreign rule. (vb/pk)