Kasia speaks about her decision to not race at the tour as part of her final preparations for the Olympics.

“I decided to not race Giro d’Italia Donne because from my previous experiences it would take me always quite a while to recover from this very long and brutal stage race. There are so many factors that affect your body and I never feel like I come out of the tour stronger. Instead, I usually need really a lot of time to recover. With the Olympics coming, I chose to skip the Giro and put all my attention into this one race in Tokyo. If I want to prepare myself as best I can, I feel it’s best to give up the chance to get a result at the Giro. My entire focus is the road race at the Olympics.”

“Instead of the Giro, I will race at Baloise Ladies Tour in Netherlands and Belgium next week. This race will help me get race speed, and being only four days long, the timing fits well. I’ll race, go home, recover and then a few days later I fly to Tokyo. I believe it’s the perfect preparation for me,” says Kasia.