photo credits @ Tour de Pologne
Sacha Modolo (UAE Team Emirates) claimed stage 2 of the Tour de Pologne in Katowice today, after executing a well-timed sprint that saw the Italian rider fend-off challenges from Danny Van Poppel (Sky) and World Champion Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe).
Team Sky featured prominently during the final kilometer, however, it was Team Sunweb’s Max Walscheid who was the first to open up his sprint.
But, the German rider was easily overhauled by Modolo during the final 150 meters, yet he still managed to hold-on for third place and seize the final spot on the podium ahead of Boy Van Poppel (Trek-Segafredo) and Youcef Reguigui (Dimension Data).
Meanwhile, based on points, Van Poppel moved up into first place in the overall classification, who now leads the race ahead of yesterday’s opening stage winner, Sagan.
Race Highlights
An early breakaway group containing riders such as Martijn Keizer (LottoNL-Jumbo), Joonas Henttala (Novo Nordisk), Adrian Kurek (CCC Sprandi Polkowice) and Kamil Gradek (Poland), succeeded in riding clear from the outset of today’s stage.
With 80 kilometers to go, Kurek decided to jettison his breakaway companions and make a go of it alone. But, despite his valiant effort, he was eventually reined in by the peloton during the penultimate lap of the 17-kilometer finishing circuit in Katowice.
Pawel Bernas (Poland) subsequently enjoyed a brief time out front, as did Daniel Oss (BMC), during the final lap. But, both riders were eventually reclaimed by the peloton as well.
Petr Vakoc (Quick-Step) followed with a surprise attack just outside the final kilometer, but he too was quickly reeled back in by the peloton under the auspices of Team Sky.
From there, the race began shaping up for an inevitable sprint finale, with Modolo emerging from out of the chaos to seize his first WorldTour victory since the 2015 Giro d’Italia.
Top 10 Finishers
1 Sacha Modolo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 3:15:21 2 Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky 3 Max Walscheid (Ger) Team Sunweb 4 Boy van Poppel (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 5 Youcef Reguigui (Alg) Dimension Data 6 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Cannondale-Drapac 7 Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 8 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 9 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 10 Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data
General classification
1 Danny van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky 6:11:27 2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 3 Sacha Modolo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 4 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-Scott 0:00:04 5 Max Walscheid (Ger) Team Sunweb 0:00:06 6 Kamil Gradek (Pol) Poland 0:00:07 7 Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data 0:00:09 8 Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky 9 Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:10 10 Boy van Poppel (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
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