On 28 September 2014 Michał Kwiatkowski, surrounded by his wonderful team, won the individual world championship. Maciej Bodnar, Michał Gołaś, Bartosz Huzarski, Bartłomiej Matysiak, Przemysław Niemiec, Maciej Paterski, Michał Podlaski and Paweł Poljański took the heat of leading the race onto themselves to allow the team leader to ride comfortably. The action that decided the outcome of the race began 8 kilometres before the finish line. Kwiatkowski leapt from the peloton to the leading group of four before taking off towards the finish line by himself, building up a several-second lead climbing up to Mirador and maintaining it on the final descent. The 24-year-old became the first professional world champion in the history of Polish cycling. “Putting on the rainbow jersey was my dream. Dreams do come true” – said Kwiatkowski at the finish.

Michał Kwiatkowski, Peter Sagan, Nairo Quintana, Fabio Aru and Tom Dumoulin. What do they have in common? They all were born in the same year. “The 1990 class” has thus come to signify the strongest group in the cycling world. Particularly fascinating is the rivalry between Kwiatkowski and Sagan.

They have been racing since their youth cycling days. “Maybe that’s why I don’t see him as unbeatable, like half of the peloton does. I know he can be beaten. He’s a great cyclist, though. He’s already a legend” – says Michał, confirming his words with his performance in the biggest events. In 2014, he defeated the Slovak in the battle for victory at Strade Bianche. In 2016, he beat Sagan at the E3 Harelbeke, and in 2017, he finished half a wheel’s length ahead of him in a fascinating duel for the Monument victory in San Remo. We are bound to see more of this wonderful rivalry in the future.