Team adds Wiśniowski to its 2022 roster

Wiśniowski describes himself as “friendly and always laughing.” Spend just five minutes chatting with the Polish rider and you’ll see that it’s true. This attitude helps him not only to enjoy life, but to get through the inevitable hardships that come with a career as a bike rider. “Cycling is such a hard discipline, a hard sport. I think you need to have a good sense of humor to push through the hard days,” he says. 

“I’m not a climber and I have to be good at something, so let’s say the Classics!” the 29-year-old jokes. All kidding aside, Wiśniowski is an asset to the team’s Classics line up. Already with a second place finish at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, he is determined to build upon that. “I’m still hungry for more,” Wiśniowski says. “When I was a kid, I always watched Omloop, Paris-Roubaix, and the Tour of Flanders. It was those three races I was dreaming about. The biggest goal is to win Paris-Roubaix. You always have to look at the highest goal and focus on it. That would be my dream from childhood.” 

From the first moment Wiśniowski rode cobblestones, he was hooked. “You feel it straight away. The cobbles suit me.”

Wiśniowski goes on to explain why he loves the cobbled Classics so much. “One day races when you just race full gas from the start to the finish line. The parcours really suit me: the cobblestones, the small roads, the wind. All that is what I really like. I’m not a climber so I really enjoy the races in Belgium.”

He has raced at the WorldTour level for the past seven seasons and loves the freshness that comes along with moving to a new team. “I’ve often changed teams in the past and I like this because then I get new friends and also new goals for the new season. New goals are new motivation.”

Jonathan Vaughters, team CEO, notes Wiśniowski’s experience as an asset. “Łukasz sort of balances out the influx of young talent into the team in 2022,” Vaughters explains. “We needed a couple of hard core, stalwart guys that know the job, that know how to get the work done in the Classics. Łukasz has actually produced some great results on his own in the Classics as well. He’s the foundation of the team, the guy you’re bringing in to steady the ship. An experienced rider, he’s been around, knows the races, knows how to work for a leader, knows how to race for himself. The foundation of a team is having guys like him who can get the grunt work done.”

Vaughters also appreciates the Polish rider’s easy-going attitude. “A lot of the young guys can be super nervous and wound up, whereas the older guys sometimes, they’re the ones who bring a little levity to the situation, a little bit of a lighthearted nature, saying ‘Listen, you’re not going to die because we didn’t win today.’ He’s a great person to have at the dinner table. I don’t usually say that as an attribute as to why I put a guy on contract, but the social dynamic is important.”

Wiśniowski is happiest anytime he can turn himself inside out, whether he’s racing for himself or a teammate. “I would like to help the team because there are a lot of GC riders and sprinters and climbers so that’s a goal for me. Personal goals, I would like to be focused on the spring Classics and to show myself at one of those races.”

His love of aggressive racing is one of the factors that drew him to EF. Wiśniowski is the kind of rider who is comfortable taking a gamble. “The team always races aggressively which is what I really like. That’s why it’s my dream team. I’m super excited and I cannot wait to meet all the riders and the staff and to race together!” 

We love your passion, Łukasz, and we can’t wait to kick off the 2022 season with you.