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Majka celebrates Tour de France highland triumph

PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge 28.07.2014 08:30
Rafal Majka celebrated his overall victory in the mountains classification of the Tour de France after completing the 21st and final stage of the race in Paris on Sunday evening.

Rafal
Rafal Majka celebrates his overall victory in the mountains classification of the 101st Tour de France. Photo: EPA/Nicolas Bouvy

Majka came 44th in the general classification, with Italian Vincenzo Nibali (pictured below) the overall champion, but he is the first ever Polish winner of the gruelling mountains classification.

There were six mountain stages in the event, and Majka won two of them (14 and 17), while also coming in the first three twice.

In the entire history of the Tour de France, the hosts have won the highland title 21 times, Spain 17, Italy and Belgium 11, Colombia 5, Denmark, Luxembourg and the Netherlands twice, and Switzerland, the UK and Poland just once.

Veteran Polish champion Czeslaw Lang told Polish Radio that the future is bright for the 24-year-old.

“Rafal Majka didn't finish too well, but regardless of that, he showed in the mountains that he has great class and great potential,” Lang said.

Lang argued that Majka has “given everyone a sign that in the future he could win an entire race - the Tour de France or the Giro d'Italia.

In the general classification, Pole Michal Kwiatkowski finished in a commendable 28th place, while Michal Golas came 55th, Bartosz Huzarski 68th and Maciej Bodnar 112th. (nh)

Astana
Astana Procycling team rider Vincenzo Nibali (C) of Italy celebrates his overall victory on the podium wearing the leader's yellow jersey, with Fdj Procycling team rider Thibaut Pinot (L) of France finishing 2nd as well as winning the youth classification, Cannondale procycling team rider Peter Sagan (2-R) of Slovakia winnning the points classification, and Saxo Tinkoff procycling team rider Rafal Majka (R) of Poland winning the mountains classification
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