photo credits @ ToP
An exciting sprint finish in Legnica wrapped up the first stage of the 82nd Tour de Pologne UCI WorldTour. The winner – and first leader of the ORLEN General Classification – was Olav Kooij from Team Visma | Lease a Bike, who claimed his fifth career stage win at the Tour de Pologne.
The 82nd edition of the Tour de Pologne UCI WorldTour began in front of the Centennial Hall in Wrocław. The peloton set off from the capital of Lower Silesia, and after just a few kilometers, the racing was underway. A breakaway quickly formed, featuring Patryk Stosz (Polish National Team), Donavan Grondin (Arkea-B&B Hotels), Lars Boven (Alpecin-Deceuninck), and Nadav Raisberg (Israel – Premier Tech), although Raisberg soon dropped from the front group.
The remaining escapees pushed on, battling for the first LOTTO Intermediate Sprint in Kąty Wrocławskie, where Frenchman Donavan Grondin – world and Olympic track cycling medalist – took the top points. Grondin continued to dominate the LOTTO Intermediate Sprints in Środa Śląska and Polkowice, securing the first lead in the LOTTO Most Active Rider Classification.
The breakaway, however, never gained too much ground, with sprint teams keeping the gap in check. They reeled in the riders from the breakaway just before the PZU Mountain Prime in Prochowice. Bauke Mollema (Lidl-Trek), a former Il Lombardia and Tour de Pologne stage winner, attacked for the points and earned the lead in the PZU Best Climber Classification.
The peloton then surged toward Legnica at high speed. In a thrilling finish, Olav Kooij emerged victorious after a tight battle in the final meters. It was the 23-year-old Dutchman’s fifth stage win at the Tour de Pologne, earning him the ORLEN General Classification yellow leader’s jersey going into stage 2.
“Racing in Poland always seems to bring me a bit of luck — it just feels like a special place for me. Today wasn’t an easy race by any means, but somehow I manage to pull off a victory almost every time I’m here. The team did an incredible job — they were strong all day, controlling the break and making sure we stayed in position. In the final, we lost each other a bit in the chaos, but even so, the effort they put in was outstanding. This win is definitely one we earned together,” said Kooij after the stage.
“We know Olav Kooij very well – he started out at the ORLEN Nations Grand Prix, where he impressed everyone with his victories. This is now his fifth Tour de Pologne stage win. Today’s stage was nervous – some rain, a bit of wind – but the sprint teams kept everything under control. It was their only real chance this week, so they took it,” said Czesław Lang, General Director of Tour de Pologne.
Kooij narrowly edged out Paul Magnier (Soudal–Quick-Step), with Jensen Plowright (Alpecin-Deceuninck) finishing third. Poland’s Stanisław Aniołkowski (Cofidis) came in sixth, earning the Best Polish Rider ORLEN VITAY Sprint prize. Thanks to time bonuses collected throughout the day, Patryk Stosz (Polish National Team) is now fourth in the general classification.
“I’m really happy with today’s results. Patryk Stosz was active in the breakaway, and Stanisław Aniołkowski finished sixth. It’s clear they’ve prepared well for the race – they’re not afraid to take their chances,” Lang added.
“It was a fast finish – the finale went by in a flash. To be honest, I was hoping for more, but that’s sport. There was only one true sprint stage in the race program, so I really wanted to make my mark. Sprints always carry a bit of a lottery element – in the final meters I got slightly boxed in and felt I could’ve come around and fought for a podium spot. But I’m not giving up, stage four is still ahead, and I’m very motivated to fight there. Today, the team positioned me perfectly. Fortunately, I avoided all the crashes, I didn’t even know there had been one until after the race. I reached the final stretch calmly. It’s a bit of a shame because I was really aiming for that podium, especially since the Tour de Pologne is a special race for me, and stepping onto the podium here means a lot. It didn’t happen today, but I’ll keep fighting,” said Stanisław Aniołkowski.
Tomorrow’s stage takes the riders from Hotel Gołębiewski Karpacz to the summit in Karpacz, finishing atop the iconic Orlinek climb. Expect fireworks and a fierce battle among the ORLEN General Classification contenders.
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