25 teams on the hunt for a jersey: the most-attended ORLEN Nations Grand Prix to date
With the unprecedented presence of Hungary, Latvia, Portugal, Slovenia and USA, the U23 stage race expands its boundaries and has become a world class event.
The ORLEN Nations Grand Prix 2023 will be the most popular ever, with as many as 25 teams taking part.
The first of the three races included in the U23 Nations Cup series – scheduled from 24th to 28th May – for the first time, it will be held in three countries in five stages: Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. Thanks to the unprecedented presence of Hungary, Latvia, Portugal, Slovenia, this edition has been expanded to encompass the whole of Europe, while the participation of the American national team makes the ORLEN Nations Grand Prix an event of global significance.
“The ORLEN Nations Grand Prix is still a young project, this is in fact our 5th edition, and we are proud of how this event, which is totally dedicated to the cycling of future professionals, is evolving.” Czeslaw Lang explains. “We strongly believe that these experiences are highly formative for these young cyclists who will be confronted with the professional world in the future. Indeed, our goal, shared from the very beginning with ORLEN, has been to offer them a high-level event where they can put themselves to the test in preparation for the challenges that await them in the future.”
The complete list
This is the complete list of the 23 participating nations: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, USA. To these are added the three Polish teams invited by the organisation: Lubelskie Perła Polski Cycling Team, GKS Cartusia W Kartuzach Bike Atelier and Klub Kolarski Tarnovia.
The goal, the leader’s jersey
All these promising young international cyclists will be competing for one big goal, to wear the leader’s jersey at the end of the fifth stage. The jersey, so coveted and precious, is sponsored by PKN ORLEN – the main sponsor of the event – and produced by Quest, official partner of the ORLEN Nations Grand Prix. Last year it was won by Morten Nørtoft from Denmark, ahead of Leslie Lührs from Germany and Gleb Karpenko from Estonia. Who will be wearing it this year after the last spectacular finish at the Hotel Arłamów?
