Like he did in the 2014 and 2015 Eneco Tour, Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) completed a marvelous solo performance to win the brutal, rainy fifth stage of the Tour de Pologne. Having joined an 18-rider break early in the race, the Belgian gradually dropped his companions and ultimately rode solo for 45km before crossing the line with a 3.48 advantage over Davide Formolo (Cannondale) and 4.37 over his teammate Tiesj Benoot. The Belgian also took over the leader’s jersey with a huge margin.

 

We have gathered several reactions.

 

Heroic Tim Wellens: I’ve never won with such a big margin before

Tim Wellens showed his incredible climbing skills during the fifth stage at Tour de Pologne. He finished off a stunning solo of 45 kilometres. The 25-year old Belgian obtained his third victory of the season, therefore Lotto Soudal has already won fifteen races in 2016.

 

The breakaway wasn’t formed immediately as the opening of the stage was very hectic and the weather was really bad. Eventually, eighteen riders managed to go clear from the peloton, Sander Armée and Tim Wellens were part of it. Not long after that, Armée was reeled in by the peloton along with several other riders. A few moments later, a lot of attempts were made in the front group.  Wellens took initiative and tried to get away. At 45 kilometres from the finish, Wellens accelerated again and this time he managed to drop his co escapees.

 

What followed was a huge effort. No one was able to close the gap to the very strong Wellens and he won the stage. Thanks to this performance, the Belgian rider is also the new leader on GC. Tiesj Benoot finished nicely third and he’s also third on GC at 4’50” of Wellens. Lotto Soudal finished with four riders in the top twenty of the stage; an excellent performance.

 

Tim Wellens said:

 

“It was a very spectacular day today. After twenty kilometres, the race was neutralized for a moment because of a big crash. The weather conditions were very bad the whole day so the road was slippery and dangerous. Luckily, I was saved from the misfortune.

 

”After the neutralization, many attempts to set up a break occurred. At a certain moment, I decided to join a break together with Sander Armée. In my opinion, it was good to be in a break because there wasn’t a particular team that controlled the race. I thought that we might have a chance to remain ahead. Sander did a lot of work in the front group, therefore I was able to sit back a bit.

 

“Eventually, the front group consisted out of thirteen riders. After that, I decided to attack as the peloton almost closed the gap to the front of the race. Firstly, a few other riders joined me but a few kilometres later I accelerated again and then I was on my own. I was able to increase the lead steadily and I managed to win the stage.

 

“I feel really cold right now, and really tired! No, but today I had a good day, my legs were good. I got into the breakaway with Sander Armee, he did a lot of work for me and we had a good advantage over the other group coming from behind: the peloton, I don't know how many riders survived in the peloton but then, before the peloton caught up I attacked with two others, then I went alone and then two others caught up and then I went alone again, it was far to go solo but on a parcours like this that goes uphill and downhill without any flat stretches, it’s not a disadvantage to be alone, especially when it is wet, so thanks to that I was able to survive until the finish line.

 

”I’m very happy that I won I such a nice way. It’s true that I like this kind of weather, but after the finish I was cold and I had to warm up a bit.

 

”Because of this performance, I have a chance to win this year’s Tour de Pologne. But it will be another two hard days in the saddle. Tomorrow’s stage contains five laps with three climbs each so it will be a difficult stage. We have a very strong team, we can ride aggressively and that’s exactly what we’re going to try. Also the closing time trial suits me.

 

”I was very motivated to show myself in this Tour de Pologne and to aim for a good position on GC. This is a nice race with several possible outcomes. The race isn’t controlled by a specific team and I like that kind of races.

 

“I’ve never won with a 4 minute advantage before, so it’s pretty special. Yes, tomorrow: they say it’s going to be much harder than today so I think everybody will suffer. I don’t know how many riders are still in the race but I think everybody suffered today and they say that tomorrow there will be a lot of rain again. Normally I like the rain, I like to race in it but today was really cold so we will see how it is tomorrow; but I have a good advantage and we have a good team and we will do our best to keep the lead.”

 

"It was very tough today. That was because of the many climbs but also the cold. The Tour of Poland is not over. I prefer a four-minute lead over a four-minute defitcit. Everything now depends on the mountain stage on Sunday. We will see, but normally my team will be strong enough to control it. Hopefully I can finish without any loss of time. I think it will be okay."

 

Fantastic WorldTour comeback for Fabio Felline after bad Amstel crash

You wouldn't know that Fabio Felline is competing in his first races after returning from a lengthy two-and half month layoff to a fractured skull, a result of a freak crash in the Amstel Gold Race in April. Felline rode an incredible race in the 225-kilometer stage five Saturday to cross the line in fourth place, soggy and utterly exhausted.

 

"I am really happy because when I come back after a few months away from racing, it is not easy to stay in the front with the best riders," said Felline. "Today was the first really hard day and to be in the front is a good sign for me. Today is today, but tomorrow is even more important for the GC, so I hope that I can be up there again tomorrow."

 

Felline has shown good form, finishing with the front group each day, but it was unkown territory in stage five, a grueling 225 kilometers with some nasty climbs. Would his form be enough? When the rain pummeled the riders all day in a bone-chilling 10-12 degrees Celsius, it became a race for the strongest, mentally and physically, and Felline answered.

 

After the second hour of racing, Felline joined a dangerous 18-rider move that came precariously close to being caught by the peloton with some 90 kilometers to go until the strongest attacked and surged ahead again.

 

Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal) was invicible, attacking and eventually dropping all to solo to the win and into the leader's jersey. The rest of the breakway struggled in behind. Davide Formolo (Cannondale-Drapac) crossed the finish line 3 minutes and 48 seconds in arrears for second place ahead of Tiesj Benoot (Lotto-Soudal) and Felline just over 45 seconds later, arriving at the line together for 3rd and 4th respectively.

 

Boy van Poppel and Fumy Beppu survived almost a seven-hour ordeal, finishing with the second peloton 46 minutes later. It was a punishing day for all. 

 

"It was an epic day," explained Director Dirk Demol. "I believe it was close to 3,500 meters of climbing and terrible, terrible weather. The race started badly for us, Eugenio (Alafaci} crashed and had to abandon immediately, and he went to the hospital to be checked. Hopefully, the damage is not too bad. Stijn (Devolder) crashed too, but it looked like he has nothing broken.

 

"After two hours of racing a group of 18 went up the road, and we had Fabio there, and they stayed away but arrived to the finish separated. I have to say more than chapeau for what Fabio did today; he just returned from injury, and it's his first race back at the WorldTour level. It was amazing; I have a lot of respect for what he did today."

 

Eugenio Alafaci abandoned after getting caught up in an early crash, and later Stijn Devolder was forced to stop, also a result crashing. It was simply a day of carnage; in total 86 riders did not finish under the miserable conditions and punishing parcours.

 

Trek-Segafredo is down to three riders for stage six Sunday. They may be only two, but van Poppel and Beppu will give everything for Felline, now sitting in 4th place overall, in what is tagged as the queen stage tomorrow.

 

Andrey Zeits impresses in rare chance to ride for himself

“I'm not surprised by my good race,” said Andrey Zeiss at the finish line in Zakopane. I’m well prepared and I want to give my best in the final stages.

 

"It's been very hard to ride for six hours in the rain and an almost autumnal temperature, but I hope to do well tomorrow in the queen stage of this Tour de Pologne.”

 

Zeits finished seventh at 5.12.

 

"Because of the cold,” said Dario Cataldo who was eleventh, “it was difficult to ride the bike. It was really a tough day, but in the end I'm satisfied with my result."

 

Excellent performance by Ruben Fernandez, Andrey Amador abandons

Under intense rain and with temperatures close to 10ºC in the Tatr mountains, stage five of the Tour de Pologne (225km between Wieliczka and Zakopane) forced Andrey Amador to abandon around halfway through Saturday’s route. Costa Rica’s idol suffered a crash on the descent of the first climb of  the day, Koscielisko Butorowy Wierch (Cat-1), leading him to a medical center nearby. Checkups ruled out any major injuries, with some bruises and pain in his shoulder and hip apparently not implying any fractures.

 

It wasn’t until 80km into the stage when the initial, 18-man break formed, including three from the Movistar Team: Giovanni Visconti, Rubén Fernández and Jonathan Castroviejo. The squad directed by Laguía and Jaimerena saw the front group break up into the final circuit, with Visconti joining Tim Wellens (LTS) in a short-lived front duo that the Belgian turned into an amazing solo action, rewarded with the yellow jersey. Spaniard Rubén Fernández gave his all to stay in an elite GC group, 5’ from the lead, to finish 8th in the day, showing his excellent, team-best legs he had already proven all over this Tour de Pologne.

 

Castroviejo, 20th, and Visconti, 22nd, completed a notable performances from the Blues in awful conditions, provoking more than 80 DNFs. Sunday’s racing could get even grittier, as no less than 15 rated ascents are covered in the 194km course in Bukowina Tatrzanska.

 

Katusha neo-pro excels on epic stage in Poland

A super difficult stage 5 took place on Saturday in the Tour of Poland (Tour de Pologne), one which saw Team KATUSHA’s Matvey Mamykin fighting for a position in the top ten. He managed to take ninth on the stage behind a solo win from rider Tim Wellens of Lotto Soudal.

 

”It was an absolutely crazy stage... so hard. Maybe it was the hardest stage in my life. In the end I was absolutely empty. The beginning of the race was super fast. I was even dropped, but later I was able to come back. When we came on the laps I did my best to help Sergei Chernetckii, working in front and chasing the break, but later I saw that Sergei was completely frozen so I tried to do my race. I did all I could today, it was impossible to do better. Now all I want is to get warm and to recover as well as possible,” said Matvey Mamykin.

 

At 225 km, the stage begins in Wieliczka and ends in Zakopane. The stage became a real test of survive for everybody who took the start in Wieliczka. With raining all the day, hard climbs and temperatures lower than 10oC it was a tough and heroic race. 86 riders did not finish today, among them – Simon Špilak, Anton Vorobyev and Jhonatan Restrepo of Team KATUSHA.

 

Mamykin finished at 5:32 for ninth place.

 

Wellens took over the general classification by a large 4:05 margin to Formolo. Mamykin is 13th on the classification with Sunday’s road stage and Monday’s time trial the last two stages to race.

 

Solid ride by Jesper Hansen on brutal day in Poland

Tough and testing weather conditions shaped today’s fifth stage at the Tour of Poland and by the end of another long day Jesper Hansen proved he’s ready for the GC challenge with a strong 12th place finish. He came over the line just under seven minutes down on a solo stage winner, and now sits in 11th overall.

 

After the stage, Sport Director Jan Valach highlighted how tough a day it was out there.

 

“It was a horrible day with the weather today, but the guys defended their position with Jesper as best they could in the conditions and did a good job.

 

“We wanted to try for the early break with Pavel Brutt which worked at first but his group was caught and then the big break went which we weren’t in. There were some other teams that missed it too so we waited and in the conditions we knew it would be a tough stage ahead still. It turned into an elimination race. Jesper did a strong ride to finish 12th and we have another hard day ahead tomorrow which will be much the same.

 

“We lost Juraj Sagan, Evgeny Petrov and Yuri Trofimov today so we are down on numbers for tomorrow but we will support Jesper in a good way.”

 

Philippe Gilbert fades on bad day for BMC in Poland

Tour of Poland Stage 4 saw Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) solo to victory after a difficult day of racing for BMC Racing Team.

 

The wet weather conditions proved difficult today with mutiple crashes over the 225 kilometer stage. Manuel Quinziato and Danilo Wyss were caught up in an early crash and were forced to stop racing.

 

Back in the race, Philippe Gilbert, Alessandro De Marchi and Loïc Vliegen were all part of a large breakaway group that went ahead after 80 kilometers out on the road. The group eventually split with three riders going off the front, including Wellens, while the rest were caught by the significantly reduced peloton.

 

The weather conditions took their toll on many riders in the peloton, including Loïc Vleigen and Peter Velits, who had to withdraw due to illness.

 

Sports Director Max Sciandri said

 

“It was a really tough day out there for us today! After 20km there was big crash on a fast descent and we had quite a few guys involved in that. Phil had to have a bike change, Floris [Gerts] and Danilo went down but I think Quinzi [Manuel Quinziato] had the hardest fall for us, dislocating his shoulder. Everyone got back on their bike but eventually Quinzi and Wyss had to stop.

 

“We then had the three guys in the breakaway but the weather conditions made things really tough out there and eventually the breakaway started to collapse with riders being caught by the peloton. Three riders were then leading the race and De Marchi worked hard to try and pull it back but it just wasn’t possible today. All the guys gave it their best job out there but it certainly wasn’t easy for any rider.”

 

BMC Racing Team Dr. Daniele Zaccaria gave an update:

 

"Manuel suffered a right shoulder injury in the crash and he is going to fly to Madrid to undergo diagnostic testing on Monday. In the same crash Wyss suffered a small shoulder injury and Velits also went down so they also eventually stopped racing. Vliegen was suffering from gastrointestinal issues during the race aggravated by the difficult weather conditions and it was also in his best interest to stop racing.

 

“For Manuel we will see what the outcome of the diagnostic tests are but if there is not any further news he will be able to continue with his current race schedule. The other riders will just need a couple days rest and they will also being to continue racing without any time off the bike.”

 

Courageous ride by talented VERVA-ActiveJet Pole in epic Polish stage

Pawel Cieslik did a great ride along the route of the fifth stage of the Tour de Pologne from Wieliczka to Zakopane. The rider from VERVA ActiveJet attacked and eventually finished 18th. He received the award for the best Polish rider

 

”I gave it my all today. It was the hardest stage of my career. Maybe I attacked too early, but it felt great. I caught Wellens, who won the stage, but it cost me a lot of strength. Then I froze a lot despite the fact that I ate and drank a lot. I started to run out of gas,. I really wanted to show the color of the sponsors and be the best Pole in the race. In the end I cannot be happy with the final result, but this day was brutal. I did what was possible,” he said.

 

Simon Yates suffers in first Polish mountains

Challenging weather added to the difficulty on a long stage at the Tour of Polandcausing many problems for the riders. 

 

23-year-old Simon Yates was the highest place finisher for ORICA-BikeExchange, battling it out to finish in a respectable 20th place after six hours of racing in the cold, wet conditions.

 

The race significantly split up throughout the course of the 225kilometre route due to numerous crashes, low temperatures and harsh terrain. 

 

Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal) survived the day to take an impressive solo victory with the rest of the peloton coming in, in ones and two's over three minutes behind.

 

Sport director Dave McPartland praised Yates determination on such a tough stage.

 

"The race was really solid for the first 100kilometres," explained McPartland. "The guys worked really hard to try and get into the day's break. When they hit the circuit it was a really difficult entrance, hilly, narrow and the race split to pieces.

 

"It dropped down to 10 degrees and continued to rain the whole day so it was a really difficult for everyone.

 

"We lost some of the guys today which is disappointing but hats off to Simon, he made it into a small chasing group which got close to the leader at one point, just 30seconds behind then from there on it was a race of attrition.

 

"It was really positive to see him on the climbs, he was in the race and showing good signs that he is back up there at the point end after such a long time away from racing.  

 

"We can take positives from this, it showed he is at the level already in his first race back." 

 

Primoz Roglic drops out of GC contention on epic day in Poland

Primoz Roglic attacked in the wet and cold fifth stage of the Tour de Pologne today. The Slovenian rider of Team LottoNL-Jumbo formed part of a leading group of 18 riders, with eventual winner and new race leader Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal). Roglic had to let the leaders go with 20 kilometres remaining and lost 15 minutes and 29 seconds.

 

“I do want to call this day an apocalyptic one,” Sports Director Addy Engels said. “It wasn’t freezing, there was no storm or thunder, but it was wet during the whole day and only 10 degrees. Everyone was freezing. The stage was very tough and long. 100 kilometres before the finish, the peloton was completely in pieces.”

 

At that moment, Roglic had already taken some initiative. He attacked and was part of a large leading group.

 

“That was a good move by Primoz to get with that break,” Engels continued. “It went quite well for a long time, but with one lap to go, he had difficulties. He was freezing and was dropped.

 

"He was good for the first three-quarters of the stage, but it was too hard for him afterwards. The differences are very big and that tells the story quite accurately.”

 

“Of course it’s a disappointment that Primoz wasn't able to ride high in the general classification because that was what we aimed for,” Engels added. “But he couldn’t have done more than this, clearly. He lost it because he wasn’t strong enough. If he didn’t take part in that leading group, it would have been a different story. That he managed to be there, first of all, means that he is developing. Now, we have to take the next step so he will be able to deliver a good overall in the future. Today, tough, it was too much.”

 

Roglic looked back at the heaviest day in his cycling career.

 

“I never faced these kind of circumstances before,” he said. “It was extremely hard and terribly cold. I gave everything I had to finish in front, but I failed in the end. I can’t be disappointed about this result because I just wasn’t able to push harder than I did today.”

 

Michal Kwiatkowski crashes out of contention in home race

Nicolas Roche went on the attack on a truly gruelling day at the Tour of Poland as the race was blown wide open.

 

Roche has been on the prowl since day one in Poland and was back at it again on stage five, jumping clear in the day's early break and then staying out front as the group slimmed down.

 

He was in touch with Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) when the Belgian made the day's decisive move but he couldn't bridge across to the eventual stage winner and began to slip back in dreadful conditions.

 

Michal Kwiatkowski had started the day in second place overall but suffered a crash midway through the mountainous stage, ruling him out of contention, despite the fact he was able to remount and finish. He came home with Peter Kennaugh, Michal Golas and Leopold Konig over 20 minutes down on Wellens.

 

Roche rolled in 28th, 16 minutes down, but the entire top 10 was fractured, with riders battling through the horrid conditions to finish.

 

Novo Nordisk hope to forget tough day in Poland

Stage 5 of the Tour de Pologne’s proved to be one of the most defining and challenging days on the bike for Team Novo Nordisk. The 225-kilometer stage started on wet roads and weather conditions only deteriorated with temperatures dropping and rain increasing.

 

Team Novo Nordisk’s Javier Megias finished in 40th place, which moved the Spaniard into 43rd overall. Of the 186 riders that began Saturday’s stage, only 100 finished.

 

“I have ridden my bike my entire life and as a professional now for four season,” Team Novo Nordisk’s Stephen Clancy said. “I have never once experienced a stage even close to as difficult as today’s. While it said seven Category One climbs, that didn’t even include all the other climbs. It was so wet and chaotic from the start. To be honest, today is the kind of day that I hope to forget.”

 

ONE gets experience on tough day in Poland

25km in, there was a large crash which caused chaos, taking down ONE’s Marcin Bialoblocki and approximately 24 others, requiring the race to be neutralised while the peloton regrouped. Once the bunch finally settled itself and got back into rhythm, the first official break of the day established, with 30 riders including Yanto Barker, Dion Smith and Karol Domagalski in the mix. Feeling threatened by the size and the pedigree of the group, the peloton didn’t wait long until they chased it down brought everything back together.

 

Shortly after, a group of 16 riders including Dion Smith decided to take a turn and surging off the front managed to open up a maximum advantage of 4 minutes. Having missed the move it was Orica Bike Exchange that took control of the peloton, reducing the gap to the breakaway while constantly reducing the size of the peloton over the challenging landscape.

 

As the breakaway began to split under the pressure, Dion Smith came back to the peloton which was now only 30 riders strong including Karol Domagalski. Constant pressure was applied at the front, forcing riders off the back of the group including Domagalski who was dropped solo and Dion Smith who found himself in a group of around 15 riders.

 

Dion Smith cruised across the line in a small group of approximately 15 riders after a solid ride. A strong willed and gutsy performance from British rider Yanto Barker saw him cross the line after 6 hours and 45 minutes of racing and 1 of only 100 riders to complete the stage.

 

Kiwi Dion Smith and British rider Yanto Barker will represent ONE Pro Cycling as we head into Stage 6 of the tour. With 15 classified climbs over the duration of the 194km stage, it certainly won’t give what’s left of the peloton a breather before the final stage and Individual time trial on Monday.

 

In-form Bob Jungels crashes out of the Tour de Pologne

Sensing there was an opportunity for a long-range move to stick right until the very end, 18 riders booked a place in the breakaway, Bob Jungels and Zdenek Stybar being there for Etixx – Quick-Step. Both brought their contribution at the front as the large group established a 4-minute lead long before the intermediate sprint at the 102-km mark, where Jungels went for the bonus seconds and took first place.

 

Unfortunately, the rain made the road more and more slippery, and many riders crashed, including Stybar, who lost contact with the other escapees and was left stranded between the group and the pack. As the mercury continued to drop and the clouds to become more tumultuous, dark and ragged, other Etixx – Quick-Step riders hit the ground, including Luxembourg champion Bob Jungels, who crashed later in the race, on the circuit, and was forced to abandon from what proved to be the winning break.

 

"It's a real pity I had to call it a day, because I felt good and had strong legs. I was confident the break can go all the way and I can get a good result, but crashing on that downhill changed everything. Hopefully, I will make a fast recovery and be ready for the next races", Bob Jungels said after getting to the hotel with the rest of the team.

 

Besides him, the stage which was won by Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal) from the escape witnessed five more riders of the team stop: double stage winner and overall leader Fernando Gaviria, Pieter Serry (both due to crashes), Nikolas Maes, stage 1 winner Davide Martinelli and Lukasz Wisniowski, after all three of them suffered because of the harsh and grim weather. Also neo-pro Laurens De Plus was involved in two pile-ups, but put on a brave ride to get to the finish, as did Zdenek Stybar. All riders will be examined tonight and a full extent of their injuries will be known tomorrow.