Team Sky's Vuelta frontman vows to press on after crashes hinder GC chance
Michal Kwiatkowski
Nationality: Polish
Date of birth: June 2, 1990
Height: 176cm
Weight: 68kg
Team: Team Sky
Twitter: @michalkwiatek
2014 world champion Michal Kwiatkowski is one of several Polish riders at the top of the WorldTour, as the nation enjoys a stunning cycling resurgence in recent years.
Along with Rafal Majka, Przemysław Niemiec, Bartosz Huzarski and Marcin Białobłocki, Kwiatkowski is leading a new generation of Polish riders on the world stage. But the Team Sky rider is the best of the current crop, having performed consistently in a variety of races and taken wins at Milan-San Remo, Strade Bianche, Amstel Gold Race and Volta ao Algarve.
An impressive 11th in his debut Tour de France in 2013, Kwiatkowski went on to better things in 2015 with a more focused programme. Attacking the spring Classics, he won Strade Bianche by riding away from Peter Sagan before placing top five in all three of the Ardennes classics.
>>> Michal Kwiatkowski: my year as world champion
Kwiatkowski made a mockery of the so-called curse of the rainbow jersey in 2015, winning the Paris-Nice prologue en route to the young rider’s jersey, followed by fourth in the Tour of Flanders and victory in the Amstel Gold Race, finishing a respectable eight in the World Championship road race, three seconds behind Peter Sagan.
In 2017, Kwiatkowski enjoyed his biggest win to date, claiming Milan-San Remo ahead of Sagan after winning Strade Bianche for a second time earlier in the season. The Pole went on to regain his Time Trialling national jersey as he smashed the Polish national championships for the first time since 2014.
Major results: 2017 Milan-San Remo | 2017 Strade Bianche | 2015 Amstel Gold Race | 2015 Paris-Nice prologue | 2014 UCI road world championship | 2014 Strade Bianche | 2014 Volta ao Algarve
Michal Kwiatkowski follows Geraint Thomas’s example as he plots GC future
Michal Kwiatkowski’s Vuelta a España 2018 overall hopes took a hit, but he still dreams of developing like Sky team-mate Geraint Thomas into a Grand Tour winner. The Polish former…
Michal Kwiatkowski settles for second after ‘unbeatable’ Rohan Dennis wins Vuelta opener
The Pole sits in just six seconds down in second position ahead of the opening road stages
Michal Kwiatkowski beats Simon Yates to overall victory at the 2018 Tour of Poland (stage by stage)
The Pole took overall victory after winning two stages along the way
Pascal Ackermann sprints to victory on Critérium du Dauphiné stage two as Impey takes overall lead
Race leader Kwiatkowski crashed with just over a kilometre remaining and was able to get to the finish of stage two
Michal Kwiatkowski takes victory in Critérium du Dauphiné prologue as Geraint Thomas crashes
The Pole takes the overall lead ahead of the opening road stage on Monday
Not possible to do full cobbled Classics and Ardennes campaign, says Michal Kwiatkowski
The former world champion says he had to prioritise the Ardennes races and skip most of the cobbled Classics this year, except the Tour of Flanders
Michal Kwiatkowski: ‘The whole bunch just let Nibali ride away. We fell asleep’
Michal Kwiatkowski, last year's Milan-San Remo winner, says that the group "fell asleep" and let Vincenzo Nibali ride away to win the 2018 edition.
Kwiatkowski to Sagan: ‘Sometimes you win by being the smartest, not the strongest’
The 2017 Milan-San Remo winner responds to Sagan's comments over how he won the Italian Monument
Peter Sagan: ‘If I win Milan-San Remo like Kwiatkowski, I’m not happy’
The world champion says he'd rather put on a show than win by following the wheels like Michal Kwiatkowski did in his Milan-San Remo victory
Michal Kwiatkowski wins Tirreno-Adriatico overall, Geraint Thomas third
Rohan Dennis wins decisive final time trial stage in Tirreno-Adriatico as Michal Kwiatkowski takes the overall victory
Michal Kwiatkowski: ‘No special equipment is needed to win Strade Bianche’
Defending Strade Bianche champion Michal Kwiatkowski dispels the notion that you need to adapt your bike to tackle the mud and gravel roads of the Tuscan race on Saturday
Michal Kwiatkowski is out riding in the snow again, this time doing his recon of Strade Bianche
As if one snowy recon ride in a week wasn't enough, Michal Kwiatkowski is out in the cold again, this time taking a look at the roads of Strade Bianche.
Michal Kwiatkowski braves heavy snow and freezing temperatures to recon Milan-San Remo (video)
Michal Kwiatkowski looks seriously motivated to defend his Milan-San Remo title after heading out for a recon in heavy snow and freezing temperatures.
Michal Kwiatkowski attacks to win Volta ao Algarve stage five and claim overall victory
Geraint Thomas was unable to hold onto his lead, finishing in a group 1-42 down on his team-mate
Geraint Thomas and Michal Kwiatkowski line up for Team Sky at Volta ao Algarve
Former Volta ao Algarve winners Geraint Thomas and Michal Kwiatkowski will line up for the 2018 edition of the Portuguese stage race
Extreme weather leads to Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana team time trial stage neutralisation
Team time trial stage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana in Spain is neutralised after calls from riders and teams due to heavy rain and high winds
Michal Kwiatkowski: It’s going to be difficult to top 2017 success
The former world champion says he'll return to the cobbles during his spring campaign
100 Best Road Riders of 2017: #7 Michal Kwiatkowski
Polish pro Michal Kwiatkowski drops in at number seven in our 100 Best Road Riders of 2017 countdown
Michal Kwiatkowski aims to follow Geraint Thomas’s path into Grand Tour leadership
After a successful 2017 season, Polish rider Michal Kwiatkowski has hinted at taking on one-week stage races in 2018, with a final goal of Grand Tours.
Michal Kwiatkowski to ride for Team Sky until at least 2020 after signing new contract
Star Tour de France domestique Michal Kwiatkowski will stay at Team Sky until at least 2020 after signing a new three year contract with the British team.
Michal Kwiatkowski’s stellar season reflected in his rise up the WorldTour ranking
After his San Sebastian victory, Michal Kwiatkowski moves up to second in the latest UCI WorldTour ranking behind Greg Van Avermaet
Michal Kwiatkowski wins Clásica San Sebastián 2017
Former world champion Michal Kwiatkowski finished off a perfect performance for Team Sky with victory in the Basque Country at the Clásica San Sebastián
Michal Kwiatkowski: ‘Froome thanks me a couple of times a day at the Tour de France’
Former world champion Michal Kwiatkowski has proved to be one of Chris Froome's most invaluable domestiques during the 2017 Tour de France
Team Sky’s Michal Kwiatkowski smashes course to win Polish time trial championship title
Michal Kwiatkowski beat Marcin Bialoblocki by over a minute to claim his second national TT jersey