photo credits @ ToP
Today’s stage 3 of the Tour de Pologne saw Ben Turner of INEOS Grenadiers emerge victorious.
The Lower Silesian triptych of the Tour de Pologne UCI WorldTour concluded with a stage beginning and ending in Wałbrzych, Wałbrzych County, packed with demanding climbs. The course included three ascents each of the Walimska Pass and the Niedźwiedzica Pass, categorized as PZU Mountain Primes. In the final lap riders also tackled PZU Mountain Prime in Rzeczka.
Earlier in the stage, riders also competed for the DPD Special Sprint in Jedlina-Zdrój and the LOTTO Intermediate Sprint in Walim.
Right after the start, riders took advantage of the hilly terrain to launch attacks, attempting to form the breakaway of the day. Several groups emerged, with the first riders to gain a visible gap being Fabio Van den Bossche, Timo Kielich (Alpecin-Deceuninck), and Remi Cavagna (Groupama-FDJ). They were later chased by eight riders: Ide Schelling (XDS Astana Team), Kelland O’Brien (Team Jayco AlUla), Pierre Thierry, Alessandro Verre (Arkea-B&B Hotels), Reuben Thompson (Lotto), Mateusz Gajdulewicz (Polish National Team), Pepijn Reinderink (T-Rex Quick-Step), and Anthony Perez (Cofidis).
At the PZU Mountain Prime on the Walimska Pass, Van den Bossche claimed maximum points, and shortly after, the groups merged. Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale moved to the front of the peloton to control the breakaway. Kielich (Alpecin-Deceuninck) won all the PZU Mountain Primes on the Walimska and Niedźwiedzica Passes during the first two laps, earning the PZU Best Climber jersey, as well as the DPD Special Prime and the LOTTO Sprint Prime.
With 80 kilometers to go, attacks erupted in the peloton as Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) and Chris Hamilton (Team Picnic PostNL) accelerated. Later, Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) made a move, but all attacks were neutralized.
The increased pace in the main group reduced the breakaway’s lead, causing it to splinter. The strongest among them were Kielich, Van den Bossche, Cavagna, O’Brien, Reinderink, and Perez. Before the PZU Mountain Prime in Rzeczka – won once again by Timo Kielich – Reinderink, O’Brien, and Kielich managed to go clear. Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech) also attacked from the peloton and bridged to them briefly.
Reinderink claimed the final PZU Mountain Prime in Rzeczka but was soon caught by the peloton, leaving only O’Brien out front. Diego Ulissi (XDS Astana Team) and Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar Team) then attacked from the chasing group.
On the descent from Rzeczka, a serious crash occurred, involving ORLEN GC leader Paul Lapeira (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), runner-up Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), Rafał Majka, Filippo Baroncini (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), and Michał Kwiatkowski (INEOS Grenadiers), among others.
The race was temporarily neutralized for safety reasons.
“Just over 20 kilometers from the finish, there was a major crash involving the race leader, Rafał Majka, Michał Kwiatkowski, and other riders. All of our medical vehicles stopped to help the injured. According to the rules, the peloton couldn’t continue without the ambulances. For safety reasons, we decided to neutralize the race and stop the riders. Once the ambulances rejoined the peloton, the race resumed, but to avoid confusion, the times remained unchanged and riders only contested the stage victory” explained Czesław Lang, General Director of the race.
The breakaway resumed with a 40-second lead over the peloton and raced toward the finish in Wałbrzych. The pace was high, and the groups came together on the final kilometer. After excellent lead-out work by Michał Kwiatkowski (INEOS Grenadiers), his teammate Ben Turner sprinted to victory. Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) and Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek) rounded out the podium.
“It was a nervous day, the course was tough, and everyone wanted to stay at the front. Unfortunately, there was a crash, and I hope everyone is okay. You never want to see that. After the neutralization, we had a plan, executed it perfectly, and I’m glad I could finish it off with a win” said Ben Turner.
“It was a strange situation – everyone lost focus. At that point, everything was going well for us with Jack Haig and Antonio Tiberi in front. Then the crash happened, Jack was involved too, and the decision to neutralize was made. In the finale, I gave it everything and finished second, which is still a good result” said Pello Bilbao.
In the ORLEN General Classification, Paul Lapeira (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) remains in the lead. Tomorrow riders will tackle a stage from Rybnik to Cieszyn. The 82nd Tour de Pologne UCI WorldTour is broadcast on TVP, Eurosport, and HBO Max.
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