Stanisław Kłosowicz

Stanisław Kłosowicz began his competitive cycling career in 1922, later becoming one of the best road cyclists in Poland. From 1927 to 1929 Kłosowicz won three consecutive editions of the Kraków-Zakopane race, considered to be the unofficial Polish championships. During this time he was selected to compete at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, but only managed to finish 57th in the individual road race, more than one hour behind the race winner. Later that same year Kłosowicz finished third in both the road race at the Polish championships and at the Tour of Poland stage race. He then won a stage of the Tour of Poland in 1929 before becoming the Polish road race champion in 1932.

Kłosowicz completed his education at a vocational school where he qualified as a lathe operator. During the German occupation of Poland he was forced to work in an arms factory in the city of Radom. From here things went from bad to worse when he was made to undergo trips to witness the Katyn massacre to create anti-Soviet propaganda. When the Russians occupied the city in 1945, Kłosowicz was arrested and deported to a prison camp. When he eventually returned to Poland in the early 1950s he was already terminally ill, dying in October 1955 at the age of 49.