Image source: Getty Images

Ineos bicycler Michael Kwiatkowski has withdrawn from the Tour de Pologne due to the need to recover after Tour de France.

Kwiatkowski helped his side to final overall victory at the Tour. The 29-year-old has yet to rack up a victory this season, though he rode well to finish third at Paris-Nice and Milan-San Remo in March.

“I’m not a guy who likes to change his plans but unfortunately this is one of those moments. As much as I love Tour de Pologne and cherish memories from last year, I will not participate in this year’s edition,” Kwiatkowski wrote in a personal message.

“I know now, straight after finishing Tour de France, that recovery is what my body was suggesting [to] me probably since a very long time. So far it wasn’t the season I was dreaming of and this is a good time for reflection and thinking about my preparation, combining heavy racing in 2018 and trying to step up from that in particular.”

Tour de Pologne gets underway in Krakow on Saturday.

“Hopefully soon I will be able to find a joy from riding my bike and I’m sure that from there on I will win again some big races,” Kwiatkowski wrote. “It’s a very difficult decision to miss that amazing feeling of racing in front of Polish fans. I will be watching and hoping my teammates put on a great show.”