Pole Star

Rafal Majka has achieved great things in the Grand Tours: high GCs and mountain stage wins, but never in the same race. As he reflects on fifth place in the 2016 Giro, Majka knows the time is coming to choose one approach over the other

Rafal Majka spent three weeks of this spring at the Troodos Hotel, the highest hotel on Cyprus. For a couple of days as he turned out the rides, ate and lounged around at 1,750m above sea level on Mount Troodos with those who were also preparing to ride the Giro d’Italia with him: Jay McCarthy, Manuele Boaro, Ivan Rovny and Pawe‚ Polja ski. If a Martian landed they would have no doubt picking out the leader among this group. On rides, Majka led from the front, taking wind and when it came to efforts he floated away from the rest. Even in the hotel, it was his baritone that could be heard at meals. He naturally sat at the centre of things.

Majka stayed on the mountain longer than the others to get as much benefit as possible. After the three-week block, a single night’s stay at his home in Italy separated him from a campaign that included Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Tour of Romandy and the Giro.

It sounded a particularly tough regime but when we sat down opposite him on a rest day, the 26-year-old Pole shrugged it off. “It’s a long three months,” he agreed, “but when you have one goal you need to prepare everything. My wife knows that when I have a goal, I want to be working towards it. To get a good result helps me to survive these three months.”

Majka finished fifth at the Giro this May. It was his best result at the Italian Grand Tour, which, because it’s the coolest, suits him the least. But it was still a personal blow, as he hoped to make the podium.

Fifth was about right. Less than two minutes separated the top four but Majka was another 2:13 behind Steven Kruijswijk in fourth; Majka had mostly been able to follow but unable to make the running.