Rafal Majka becomes the first Pole to win the polka dot jersey. Tinkoff-Saxo’s Rafal Majka is undoubtedly one of the big revelations of this year’s Tour de France. He crossed the finish line on Champs-Élysées as the king of the mountains and two-times stage winner – one in the Alps on Risoul and another in the Pyrenees on the final summit of Plat d’Adet.
“I’m extremely happy and a bit surprised about my performance during this Tour. It’s my first Tour de France and I came here to support Alberto. But we have shown that even without our captain, we’re a very strong team. We had no plan B, but we created a new plan A – and we’re all very proud”, says Rafal Majka.
The 24-year old Pole has ridden the Giro twice and the Vuelta once with two top-10 results in the GC – both in Giro d’Italia. Majka came to the Tour after 21 hard stages in Italy, but has performed excellently during the second half of Tour de France.
“I was obviously tired after the Giro, so together with the sport directors we decided that I should take it slow for the first 10 days to build my shape. It has worked really well and I’ve been among the strongest riders in the second half of the race”, Rafal Majka tells.
After the final lap in Paris, Rafal goes to the podium to receive the last and most important mountain jersey of this year’s Tour.
“To be standing here in Paris with the polka dots on my jersey is a dream come true. I want to continue improving and, in time, to aim for the overall win. But this is a perfect place to start and I’ve proven to myself that I’m capable of competing in the Tour. I look forward to returning”, concludes Rafal Majka
