The Tour de Pologne has been named Poland's sporting event of the year, despite the 2020 event being overshadowed by a major crash on the opening stage.

The award was part of the Polish Sports Personality of the Year, organized by Poland's oldest sports newspaper, Przegląd Sportowy, and the Polsat television station.

Former CCC team sports director Piotr Wadecki announced the winners, and Agata Lang, vice president of the European Cycling Union and vice president of race organizer Lang Team, accepted the award.

"Czeslaw Lang and his team were among the pioneers. The Tour de Pollogne took on the challenge of hosting the first stage race in the WorldTour series after a pandemic interruption," according to the Przegląd Sportowy website.

"The whole world, not just the cycling world, was watching to see if the peloton, with hundreds of vehicles and thousands of staff, could operate in a new reality full of restrictions and new regulations. They did it, setting an example and giving hope that there is a place for the sport in this new world order."

The 2020 Games were the first World Tour stage race after the interruption caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo Visma) pushed Fabio Jacobsen (Deckenink-Quickstep) into the finish line barrier, causing a life-threatening crash.

The Jumbo Visma sprinter deviated from the line at high speed on the slightly downhill finish in Katowice. The incident is still under investigation by the Prosecutor's Office in Katowice.

The quality of this high-speed downhill finish and the barriers protecting it have been criticized by several professional and former professional athletes and the athletes' union, the CPA. In response to this incident and other dangerous incidents during the 2020 season, the UCI set up a working group to address rider safety issues and put forth a series of new protocols, including improved barrier standards for bunch sprints.

Longtime race director Czeslaw Lang consistently insisted that the race route had been prepared "as safely as possible," pointing to Groenewegen's "foul play" as the main cause of the accident.

Race organizers and Katowice officials acknowledged to Cycling News that the city of Katowice would be on the 2021 route, but Lang stressed that a different scenario was being contemplated regarding parkour.

As a result of the crash, Jacobsen suffered serious facial injuries, including significant damage to his jaw and teeth. Jacobsen was immediately treated by on-site medical services, but was later hospitalized and placed in a coma. He regained consciousness two days later and went on to recover, undergoing several reconstructive surgeries in the process.

The Polish Athlete of the Year contest dates back to 1926. Fans first vote online, by text, or by mail, and then rank the top 10 from a list pre-selected by journalists. A points system determines the top 10, and voting takes place during the event. This year, soccer player Robert Lewandowski won the main prize, while tennis player Iga Siwiotek and ski jumper Kamil Stoch rounded out the top three.

The contest will also present awards in other categories not voted for by the public. These include the awards for best coach, best team, and best para-athlete. The Sporting Event of the Year has not been regularly held since 2017. The Tour de Pollogne has won the award six times before: in 1995, 1996, 2004, 2008, 2011, and 2015.

While the coronavirus pandemic derailed the plans of many organizers, the Tour de Pologne became the most prominent sporting event to be held in Poland in 2020. Other international competitions included the Ski Jumping World Cup in Zakopane, the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships, the World Junior Speed Skating Championships, and the IIHF World Women's U18 Championships.

Deceuninck-QuickStep's Remco Evenepoel won the overall after a daredevil solo attack on the fourth mountain stage of the 2020 Tour de Pollogne. He passed Jakob Fuglsang, Simon Yates, and Rafau Mayka at the 51km mark and crossed the finish line holding up Jacobsen's bib number in lieu of a salute.