Walter Calzoni spent his first hours as a 25-year-old pushing hard through the Carpathian Mountains. And in the end, he also gave himself a nice gift at the Tour of Poland 2026: the best climber's jersey, which is no longer up for debate since today there's a time trial. He was the first to attack and the last to give in on the route designed around Bukovina, he claimed the mountain points at Sierockie, Słodyczki, Pitoníówka and the first passage at Ściana Bukovina, and then enjoyed the celebration on the podium. He, by the way, had won a stage in these areas at the Tour of Małopolska in 2022 while riding for Gallina Ecotek.

"Actually, my hope was that the peloton would give us more room to try and fight for the stage - said the Pinarello Q36.5 rider -. Unfortunately that wasn't the case, so I started sprinting for the various mountain points and when the team told me there was a concrete possibility of winning it, then it became an objective".

The Brescia-born rider comes off a good summer, in which he finished 6th at the Tour of Hungary and 7th at the Sibiu Tour. Performances that didn't go unnoticed within the team: "My seasonal balance, for now, is positive. I've worked hard for the team and whenever I had the chance I believe I always did something good. However, there's still an important part of the season left, also because I have my first Grand Tour coming up".

Calzoni will indeed be at the start of the Vuelta a España 2026: "It's definitely a nice emotion - Walter explains further -. How do I expect it to be? Tough, also because Pogačar is on the start list and when he's there it's hard for everyone. However, the sensations I had here in Poland are positive, so I'm starting with a lot of desire. I hope to give the team a good hand, enjoy it, and why not, it would be nice to be up there one day fighting for a stage".