Alex Dowsett (Movistar) took his first WorldTour win since the 2013 Giro d’Italia with a dominant ride on the flat 25km course that was used for the final stage of the Tour de Pologne. The Brit was 22 seconds faster than teammate Jonathan Castroviejo in a 1-2 for Movistar and 39 seconds faster than Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo) in third. Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) rode safely to take 14th and secure the overall win while top 10 places allowed Fabio Felline (Trek) and Alberto Bettiol (Cannondale) to move onto the overall podium.

 

We have gathered several reactions

 

Tim Wellens: This win is up there with my Eneco Tour victory

Tim Wellens won the 73rd edition of the Tour de Pologne. Wellens was already the best during the fifth stage in this race after an incredible solo rider. Because of this wonderful performance and due to the cancelled queen stage, the Belgian rider started as leader in the closing time trial of 25 kilometres in and around Krakow. Wellens rode a decent time trial, he finished thirteenth. His competitors on GC were unable to threaten him. He won this year’s Tour de Pologne with more than four minutes advantage.

 

Lotto Soudal obtained some very nice results. Tim Wellens won the fifth stage, Tiesj Benoot finished third on that stage. Benoot also obtained the fifth place on GC. Four riders finished in the top twenty of this Tour de Pologne – a stunning performance. Lotto Soudal also won the team classification.

 

Sports director Mario Aerts is very proud. He said:

 

“Our aim beforehand was to show ourselves during the two important mountain stages. In the first real mountain stage, Tim Wellens immediately showed his climbing skills. That was a very strong performance. He also obtained a big advantage on GC so we had a lot of confidence for the queen stage. Eventually, this stage was cancelled and for good reason. The road was really dangerous. The riders started in the shortened stage, but after several kilometres the organization decided together with the riders to cancel the race.

 

“In my opinion, this decision didn’t have a big influence on the GC positions. We had a very strong team so I’m pretty sure that we would have been able to defend Tim’s leader’s jersey.

 

”Finally, Tim rode a good time trial so he won the race. We also finished with four riders in the top twenty. That’s a result I didn’t dare to dream about. We are absolutely very proud on the whole team.”

 

After the Eneco Tour, this is the second stage race at the highest level that the 25-year old Tim Wellens manages to win. Besides that, he also won the sprints classification and the KOM classification.

 

He said:

 

“I didn’t take too many risks in the closing time trial. It was very important not to crash so I could secure my leading position on GC. I tried to maintain an equal pace and that worked out really well.

 

"I went full for the time trial. In a race against the clock, you always go to the limit. I made the difference in Saturday's stage which was very heavy.

 

“I’m very happy with this victory of course. In theory, you can compare this victory with any other victory in a WorldTour stage race. But in my opinion, this race is less important than Paris-Nice for instance.

 

”I just wanted to check how good I felt on the bike after a very hard training period with the Olympic Games in mind. It pleases me that I was able to obtain this nice result, also the team did a great job.

 

”I like to compare this race with the Eneco Tour. The real climbers can’t perform as they would and the stages allow an aggressive way of racing. These kind of races suit me well.

"It’s a really nice victory; I’m really happy about it, its World Tour level, it’s also a really nice race, very well organized.  We had a little bit of bad luck yesterday with the weather, but you can’t do anything about that; it was the right decision to cancel it, I would have preferred normal conditions so we could ride the race but you can do nothing about it, like I said, but yeah, I’m really happy with the victory. 

 

“For Rio: It’s not because I’ve won here that I am sure to be selected for Rio; before the race I was already pretty sure I would go. For sure it’s a nice race to do before Rio, it gets you into good shape.
 

”Compared to the Giro, it’s a little different because this is a short race, of course. The victory in the Giro was also very nice and very special, this victory looks a little like the win in the Eneco tour; they are both nice races, both World Tour events, both are well organized, that’s for sure. They are pretty much the same. 

 

”This was my first time in the Tour de Pologne, it was a great race to do, with a nice route, and they say there are usually many, many fans, but I think because of the weather maybe there were a little less, but it was a nice race to ride. I had heard many colleagues say that this is a very nice race, with good organization, and I wanted to see it with my own eyes. 

 

"There were some long stages here which was a good preparation for Rio. For the Games was the Tour of Poland perfect, but it was more than that. Poland was not only preparation. It was also a goal. I was very motivated, and I am very happy with this beautiful win.”

 

Alex Dowsett: The hardest part was to get to the start of the time trial

Following deluge into the previous two stages in the Tatr mountains, including a hellish ride on Saturday with more than 80 abandons, and after crashes - with Fran Ventoso and Andrey Amador retired, fortunately not seriously hurt -, frozen hands… the last day of the 2016 Tour de Pologne gave the Movistar Team the taste of victory. And it came in a very unexpected, dominant way.

 

Alex Dowsett - 28’59” to complete the 25km flat TT stage seven in Kraków - and Jonathan Castroviejo, 22” down on his team-mate, made the expectations of DS José Luis Jaimerena become reality as the Blues snatched a one-two that marks their 31st success of the year, now just five short of their all-time record high of 36 in 1998.

 

Rubén Fernández also featured prominently for the Movistar Team in Poland. The 25-year-old climber fron Murcia jumped two places forward in the overall classification on this final day, from 8th to 6th, following a nice TT performance to second his big effort to 8th in Zakopane’s circuit on Saturday. There, the one-man-show by Tim Wellens (LTS) all but secured triumph for him in the 2016 edition, the Belgian following the steps of 2015 victor Ion Izagirre who now defends the Blues’ pavillion in the Tour de France.

 

Alex Dowsett said: 

 

“I knew it was going to be difficult - the difficult thing for me was actually getting to the stage. Yesterday, unfortunately we didn’t race, but it would have been really tough for me, the day before being just as hard just to make it through.

 

”I’m happy. It was a struggle just to get to this stage but certainly two days ago, in Saturday’s stage, I really had to fight just to stay in the race.

 

“Today for the TT I wasn’t sure how I was going to go, I had reconned the circuit, my legs didn’t feel great on the warm up, but then in the race things were fine. It was a really good TT for me. My numbers were decent; I paced it well. Yeah, it was difficult: tailwind out, headwind back, which makes it difficult to judge your pace, but yes, I am happy.

 

"I got here and looking at who was in the field, there were a couple of guys that could be near me if I had just ‘good’ legs, but I knew I stood a good chance of winning. In the end, the time trial went well for me: the legs felt well all the way through, the numbers were good - I’m just happy with how it all went. It’s a big one, especially considering the important community of haemophiliacs here in Poland.

 

"It’s a way to send a message, especially to the young kids, that you can keep on achieving great things even when suffering from it. I just want to thank the team and its sponsors for their support to this victory today.”

 

Fabio Felline surprises everybody with WorldTour podium spot in comeback race

There is no other way to put it: Fabio Felline was phenomenal in the Tour of Poland. Felline ended the week of racing with another impressive effort in the 25-kilometer time trial Monday to secure second place overall, his first ever World Tour podium.

 

In top form, this is vintage Felline. However, when you factor in the Italian has just arrived back to competition from a lengthy lay-off to injury, and his first race back is a World Tour event with long stages and atrocious weather that had half the peloton calling it quits, it's a remarkable feat.

 

"I am really happy; to be second is a beautiful result," said Felline. "I only raced the national championships before this, and that was only one day. I worked really hard, I trained at altitude and made huge sacrifices to come back.

 

"I need this for my morale after the crash and to confirm about my condition and that I am fully recovered. It's a surprise; the GC was not my focus coming here. But on the first day, I was already thinking a little about it, and I lost nine seconds and was not happy. Everyone told me, 'no stress, no stress' so I just took it day by day, but each day with the maximum.

 

"It was an important day because when we started, the team told me, “Fabio, if you do a good Time Trial you can be on the podium.” For me, after a big crash and after 3 months out of racing, to be on the podium, in second place is a really fantastic job well done. For the morale of the team, it’s important. The last kilometre was incredible, because at a certain point I didn’t even see the road, because I was giving it everything I had. But when you have the morale and a good director, who is saying "go, go, go!" every second (through the radio), you get a good rhythm going, you can see the podium, morale starts to climb, this is how it was.”

 

With stage six cancelled, the time trial became the deciding race to determine the overall classification. Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal), barring an incident, was never threatened for the overall and safely arrived over the finish line to collect the honors.

 

The fight was for the next two steps, and the race of truth would decide. 

 

At the first intermediate checkpoint, Felline had already overtaken third and chipped deeply into second overall Davide Formolo's (Cannondale-Drapac) advantage.

 

Crossing the line utterly depleted, Felline left no doubt he was back to form. He finished in sixth place, the best of the GC contenders. Second place was his.

 

"Today was super hard; never have I finished a TT as tired like today," explained Felline. "In the car Dirk (Demol, director) managed me really well. Before the start I asked him that I wanted to be pushed to my maximum today, it was my mission, and I was able to do this. When I finished, it was impossible to give more. I am super happy; it's my first overall podium in a WorldTour race."

 

Dirk Demol summed up the successful week for the team:

 

"I am really surprised with Fabio. I was hoping for one in the top 10 overall, but we were thinking it would be more Ryder (Hesjedal) because we all know what happened to Fabio and that he is coming back from such a horrible crash. It was his first real race back, real long stages, and in horrible weather conditions and to finish in second place I have to say wow!

 

"Also, chapeau to Niccolo (Bonifazio) for winning a stage. That was our goal, and we achieved it, and then to finish in second GC… it has been a very good race for us, more than we even expected."

 

Fantastic Cannondale team with three youngsters in the top 10 at Tour de Pologne

Cannondale-Drapac wrapped up a wet week of racing at Tour de Pologne with three riders in the top ten overall. Alberto Bettiol parlayed his eighth-place effort in the final stage individual time trial to third on the general classification. Davide Formolo managed fifth place overall, and Davide Villella rounded out the top ten.

 

 

The Italian trio’s success in Poland came largely due to their results in a key mountain stage. Formolo soloed to second place in nasty conditions in Zakopane on Saturday. Bettiol came to the line alone in fifth place. Villella was the tenth rider to reach the finish.

 

With four sprint stages before the mountainous day and a weather-cancelled stage on Sunday, Monday’s time trial proved decisive.

 

“The success was not a surprise,” said sport director Eric Van Lancker. “The goal was to win a stage. We didn’t get the stage win, but we had good results in the week. For the overall, we were going for Rigo [Rigoberto Uran] until he crashed twice and lost time on the hardest stage.”

 

“The first mountain stage was the best day for us,” Van Lancker added. “On this day, 85 riders went home because of the bad weather. For us, we still had everyone, only not Woods because had a crash and did not start that day, and we put three riders in the top ten.”

 

“Without the race yesterday, it was maybe not the best for us,” noted Van Lancker. “It was a hard stage and Formolo maybe could have taken more time, not for the overall because he was four minutes behind but maybe more time to the other guys so that he had more of an advantage before the time trial. But it was cancelled, that’s how it is, and everything was decided today.”

 

A determined Bettiol posted the best performance of the day for Cannondale-Drapac. Only 1:13 off the winning pace set by Alex Dowsett (Movistar), Bettoil jumped up from fifth overall to third overall, knocking Formolo down to fourth place in the process. Villella started the stage in tenth place and ended the day in tenth place.

 

“For Bettoil, we can say it was a good result,” said Van Lancker. “He was really focused. Formolo did his usual time trial. He knows, and we know, he needs to work on that. If you’re on second place overall and you want to go for the podium, your time trial needs to be better. It’s something we’ll work on for the future. For Villella, it was a normal time trial.”

 

“Three riders in the top ten is not so bad,” added Van Lancker.

DAVIDE FORMOLO TALKS TOUR DE POLOGNE:

On the team’s exceptional performance on stage five: We started the day with the idea to go for the stage win, and the whole team was really good all day. We had two guys in the first breakaway, and when we recovered the breakaway, Bettiol went again. We all went deep until the very end.

 

On the cancellation of stage six: It might have been another chance for us to fight for the general classification but that’s obviously not how it played out. Some things are out of our control and that’s it. There’s nothing we can do.

 

On the final stage time trial: Today wasn’t my day.

 

On Alberto Bettiol’s third place finish: He always works for the team, and I’m happy for him to have a chance today to do something for himself. It’s good to see a guy that is working for the team always for two years get an opportunity.

 

ALBERTO BETTIOL TALKS TOUR DE POLOGNE

On the week as a whole: Almost everything was perfect. I started here at Tour de Pologne to check my condition, and I’m happy with the results.

 

On the opening sprint stages: Clarkey [Simon Clarke] and I tried to do some of the sprints. Maybe with some luck, we could have done better results. The most important thing was not to lose time before the harder stages, and we never lost time.

 

On the final stage time trial: I felt really good today, even warming up. I’m very proud that I could have such a good ride, and I want to say thanks to my teammates and all the staff who all did a good job all week.

 

On future goals: I’m always happy to do the work for my team. I’m also happy to catch my opportunities when the team gives me a chance. I work so hard at home to do that. I hope after this week the team has more confidence in me. The next goals are Utah and Hamburg and so on. We will see what happens to my condition when I arrive to these races.

 

Primoz Roglic confirms TT potential in Poland

Primoz Roglic finished third in the final stage of the Tour de Pologne today. In the time trial around Kraków, he only was beaten by Alex Dowsett and Jonathan Castroviejo (both Movistar). Victor Campenaerts finished fifth. Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal) won the general classification.

 

“It was our ambition to win this time trial,” Sports Director Addy Engels said. “Primoz Roglic and Victor Campenaerts did a good job and a time trial is always a fair thing, so this feels kind of double. We had two possible winners in our team, so the victory needs to be your target as well. We were not really that close. Primoz lost 39 seconds on Dowsett. That’s not a shame, but on a good day, it might've be the other way around.”

 

Roglic was satisfied with his place.

 

“Of course you want to win, but it was a completely flat time trial,” he added. “That makes it harder for me to reach a high pace. I lost it on speed and power today. I wasn’t able to push harder than I did.

 

"It was a very hard week here in Poland. The weather conditions made it even harder. I’m learning from weeks like this. To ride such a hard race in these circumstances as the team’s leader makes me better. This is good for my development.”

 

“When you just look at the results, you have to conclude that we didn’t reach our targets,” Engels continued. “We wanted to deliver a good general classification with Primoz, wanted to sprint with Moreno Hofland and win the time trial. We failed. The time trial wasn’t bad today and Moreno delivered some good sprints. This isn’t a huge disappointment, but it could have been better.”

 

Great time trial from Ben Hermans, overall disappointment for BMC

After a chaotic couple of days at Tour of Poland, the race came to a close in Kraków today with a time trial around the historic city which saw Ben Hermans clock the fourth-best time of the day.

 

Hermans completed the 25 kilometer course in 29 minutes 40 seconds, 41 second behind stage winner Alex Dowsett (Movistar Team).

 

There was no change at the top of the General Classification after today's stage with Tim Wellens taking the overall win while Ben Hermans and Philippe Gilbert were the top placed BMC Racing Team riders. They ended their week in Poland in 15th and 16th place respectively, 9 minutes 43 seconds and 10 minutes 29 seconds behind Wellens. 

 

Sports Director Max Sciandri said: 

 

“We did the the best job we could today and Ben looked like he was riding really well. It’s been a hard couple of days for the guys and everyone got really cold a couple of days ago and we were suffering really hard from that. It isn’t an excuse from us, it was the same situation for everyone.

 

“We didn’t get what we expected this week. We came here with a strong team and were really motivated to win a stage and get a good result in the GC but that just didn't happen. With the queen stage cancelled and the wet weather on Saturday, the guys had to adapt very quickly and I think they handled that the best they could.” 

 

Ben Hermans said: 

 

“It was quite a nice time trial today for me. Last year, I did the same time trial and I was riding for a podium spot and I was suffering a lot but today I was feeling really good in the first half and I was quite enjoying it actually. It wasn’t completely flat, it was a bit up and down but you could still get high speeds. I think it was in my favour that I have done the course a couple of times as it meant I knew when to go hard and where to really put the power in.

 

“I had fresh legs today because of yesterday stage being cancelled and finally I recovered well from the rest of week. I think if the weather had been better in the week I could have really showed my good form in the hills but I had to wait until today. I was looking forward to this week, I feel like this is a race race that suits me well but it was not meant to be this year. I was able handle the bad weather but it was freezing cold at some points and when they have cancel a stage you know it’s really bad. In the end, it was a bit of a shame for me, and the rest of team, that we couldn’t show what we were really capable of here.”

 

Larry Warbasse takes impressive WorldTour top 10 in Poland

IAM’s Larry Warbasse said:

 

“When I had to abandon the Giro d'Italia, I then made getting a top-10 in the Tour de Pologne a goal.  It was a challenging goal, but now I am 7th overall, and I did it.  Last week I would have happily taken this result, but today I was initially a little disappointed.  I would have loved to have moved up to the top-5. But unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way in the time trial today. So then, I have to be satisfied with my performance, especially when considering the circumstances.  I am very happy with my 6th place on Saturday because I rode very well in that difficult stage.  I trained very hard in the last two months, and came to this race with good legs. I knew that I would be able to have a good performance. Now I am looking with optimism to the future.  I will look ahead to the Tour of Utah and the Vuelta, which is really my main goal for the rest of the season.”

 

Eddy Seigneur, who was acting as a directeur sportif at the Tour de Pologne along with Thierry Marichal, came to a positive conclusion regarding the team’s performance at the race:

 

“It was a very difficult tour, but the guys performed very well. Heinrich Haussler was at the front in three of the sprints, and Larry Warbasse managed to ride very well on Saturday in order to take a 6th place, which formed the foundation for his top-10 result in the overall standings.”

 

86 riders abandoned the fifth stage on Saturday. Various reasons contributed to this exodus, including the fact it was the third day in a row over 200 kilometers long, and the weather conditions were very demanding with heavy rain and temperature hovering around 10 ° C. Then the queen stage on Sunday was cancelled due to terrible weather conditions that afflicted the race shortly after the start of the stage.

 

“That was a good decision, so they were able to preserve the safety and security of us riders,” Larry Warbasse confirmed.

 

Orica-BikeExchange pleased with Simon Yates’ comeback race

Former Canadian time trial champion Svein Tuft produced a solid performance forORICA-BikeExchange on the final stage of the Tour of Poland stopping the clock in a respectable seventh place.

 

The 25km flat time trial stage was won by Alex Dowsett (Movistar), with Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal) finishing high up enough to secure the overall classification.

 

Sport director Dave McPartland was happy with performances today and praised the team's efforts throughout the course of the week.

 

"It was a goal for Svein to give it a hit out today and he gave it 100%," explained McPartland. "He was around were we expected. He finished and couldn't give any more so it was a good result considering he's been doing a fair bit of work for the boys all week.

 

"Although we haven't taken home any stage wins or the general classification result, I am still pleased with the way the boys conducted themselves throughout the week. 

 

"It's definitely been one of those tours where we have got a lot out of it as a team in terms of the way the boys worked together."

 

ORICA-BikeExchange conclude the WorldTour race in 20th place overall with Simon Yates. Despite the one of the main classification stages being cancelled due to the weather conditions, the 23-year-old showed promising signs in his first race back.

 

"The fact that Simon has come back after four months of no racing, straight back into it, that's really promising for us," McPartland continued. "It just shows what a classy bike rider he is. He's in a good place going forward now and he and the team can take a lot from this week here in Poland."

 

Tuft finished off the day in seventh place rounding up a solid seven days of racing for the Australian outfit, achieving four podium places, three of them third's with Caleb Ewan and Luka Mezgec followed by a close second place from Megzec on stage four. 

 

Yates was able to finish in 20th place overall despite the race being reduced down to one climbing stage due to the adverse weather conditions during yesterday's important general classification day.

 

Astana with two riders in the top 10 at the Tour de Pologne

"It has been a difficult and selective race so I'm happy to have two riders in the top ten of a World Tour race,” said Astana sports director Alexander Shefer.

 

"It’s a shame with the cancellation of yesterday's stage because Zeits and Cataldo could have gained some positions in the standings."

 

Andrey Zeits finished eighth place with a deficit of 6:08 followed by his teammate Dario Cataldo at 6:20.

 

Daniele Bennati returns to form with top 10 in Polish time trial

After yesterday’s deluge that saw the sixth stage of the Tour of Poland cancelled, the riders that were left in the race would have welcomed the less dramatic conditions as well as the short 25km that remained on stage 7. The individual time trial effort tested the riders over a flat, out-and-back route in Krakow, at the end of which Daniele Bennati was fastest for Tinkoff with an impressive ninth place, while Jesper Hansen limited his losses and dropped only one position to 12th on GC.

 

The cold, wet conditions of the past few days took their toll on many of the legs in the peloton making for a hard final push for the final finish line of the week. Tinkoff, like most other teams, were down to just four riders going into the stage with Sergio Paulinho the first off the ramp for the team. Daniele Bennati followed soon after, completing his first race back from injury in a good way, before Pavel Brutt headed out for his effort too.

 

Hansen was the last off for the team, going into the stage in 11th overall, and the young Dane raced around the course in a time of 31’32”, leaving him 2’33” down on the stage winner. Daniele continued to impress on his return to racing with a top ten finish, just 40” off the podium.

 

After the stage, Sport Director Jan Valach summed up the day and the race as a whole for the team.

 

“It was a strong ride from Benna for a top ten today, especially as its his first race back, on the other hand Jesper didn’t have a great day, as he was tired after the two hard days in the cold wet weather.

 

“It has been a very hard week – long stages in the end of the week with some really bad weather. When you look at the results from this race, there are a lot of teams that finished with very few riders, and safety also became important – so we’re happy to still finish with four. We came here hoping for a stage result and a strong overall finish but the situation changes during the race sometimes and we can be happy with a strong showing overall.”

 

Great top 10 for Victor De la Parte in Tour de Pologne time trial

The fastest time of CCC was set by Victor de la Parte who was 10th at the line, 1:21 behind the winner. The second best CCC Sprandi Polkowice rider was Jarosław Marycz, who was also the best Polish rider in the time trial, finishing in 19th place.

 

“Before the TT I felt sluggish, but when it was time for racing I was able to push hard. I didn’t record a great time in the first half of the race. There were guys, with more TT posture, who managed to use the tailwind in their favor much better. The second part of the route suited me more, since it was more uphill and this is where I gained some seconds on my opponents,” Victor de la Parte said afterwards.

 

It was also very good team performance as 4 guys from the orange squad finished in the top 25.

 

Felix Grossschartner was the team’s highest ranked rider. He will return home with 24th place.

 

Russian neo-pro takes over from Katusha stars in Poland

The 73rd Tour de Pologne has finished today in Kraków with a traditional individual time trial of 25 km. After the queen’s stage 6 was cancelled due to the weather conditions for Team KATUSHA there was no room to change the results in the general classification. A young Matvey Mamykin tried to do his best to save his position in Top-15 and he succeeded. As result of the final stage, Mamykin took 14th place in the general classification of the Tour de Pologne, marking a promising result in a WorldTour race.

 

”I think we can be happy with Matvey, who did a very good race. He was not the leader of the team from the beginning, helping a lot for other riders. But in that crazy stage 5 he showed himself very well. I am sure he was ready for something more on the queen’s stage, but the weather did not allow us to do the race in that day. I think he showed well himself and I am happy for him,” said sports director Claudio Cozzi.

 

Sergei Chernetckii, who did his first race as the Russian TT Champion, was the best KATUSHA rider, showing 25th time (+1.54).

 

Difficult Tour de Pologne for Michal Kwiatkowski and Sky

Nicolas Roche was the highest placed Team Sky finisher at the Tour of Poland as the seven-day event culminated in a time trial.

 

Roche debuted his new Irish national time trial champion's skinsuit on the 25-kilometre test in Krakow, coming home 27th as the wet weather finally subsided.

 

The Irishman was also the team's best-placed overall finisher, retaining 26th in a GC that was shaped by an epic fifth stage to Zakopane.

 

After the stage Sport Director Brett Lancaster summed up a character-building week, saying:

 

"It's been a tough race. We started the day with five riders which is more than a lot of teams can say. Certainly there won't be many teams who came away happy with how they got on.

 

"Pete (Kennaugh) came back from injury here and he's ridden well. Michal (Kwiatkowski) gave it his all here. He had some early attacks and was up there in the sprints, but he's had a bit of sickness and hasn't been able to fully show what he can do. He was in the mix on stage five but crashed at a key moment when he was right at the front of the bunch and never got back on. We also had Nico up the road that day.

 

"That ended up being the main stage after yesterday's was cancelled. It wasn't so much the weather it was more the condition of the roads. There were rivers running across the stage so from a safety perspective it was the right thing."

Quiet end to successful Tour de Pologne for Etixx-QuickStep

Etixx – Quick-Step enjoyed an highly impressive series of victories last week, brought by Davide Martinelli and Fernando Gaviria, as well as a four-day stint in the yellow jersey, thanks to the same riders. Unfortunately, the two – together with other four men of the team – were forced to abandon on Saturday, on the stage to Zakopane, due to extreme weather conditions (heavy rain and low temperatures) and crashes, because of which almost half the peloton had to retire from the race.

 

Despite this, Tour de Pologne will stand out as one of Etixx – Quick-Step's best races of the season, an even more remarkable feat considering it was part of the World Tour calendar and had at the start many quality riders. On top of that, by notching up two stage wins, Colombian talent Fernando Gaviria (21 years) became the most successful neo-pro of 2016, with five victories to his name, three of which were scored in the World Tour.

 

The race concluded on Monday, with a 25-km long individual time trial in-and-out of Krakow, one of the oldest cities in the country. Another neo-pro, Laurens De Plus, and former Czech champion Zdenek Stybar were the two of the team's riders who made it through the ordeal of stage 5, thus starting the race against the clock on stage 7. Both enjoyed a calm day in the saddle and finished the ITT, drawing the curtain on the Tour de Pologne, which signaled the start of their second part of the season.

ONE pleased with WorldTour debut in Poland

ONE Pro Cycling had two riders taking part in the event with Yanto Barker first, followed by Dion Smith around 55 minutes later. A solid performance from both riders saw them finishing in a time of 38’22” and 31’23” respectively. Barker had technical trouble at the start of the event so unfortunately his time doesn’t reflect the effort or ability of the British rider. Dion Smith looked strong from the start, getting himself into a good rythum on the long drags both in and out of the city.

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As both riders crossed the line on Stage 7, it marked the completion of their first WorldTour event with Dion Smith placing 35th on the overall General Classification out of 200 starters – a solid performance by the team in a race of this level with four top 20 finishes throughout seven days of racing.

 .

Speaking following the race Head Sports Director commented on the teams performance this week.

 

“We have enjoyed a good week in Poland, both the riders and staff have learnt a lot from the experience which we will use as we continue to develop. Being in the World Tour bubble throughout the week is completely different to other events on the calendar, from the fantastic organisation to the way the racing scenarios play out. To have four top 20 finishes during the week is a good base and its something we would certainly look to build on for our future World Tour events”

 

Novo Nordisk hope to use Tour de Pologne form at the Tour of Denmark

Team Novo Nordisk’s two riders, Javier Megias and Charles Planet, rode the exact same time, 4:05 behind Dowsett. Tim Wellens (Lotto‐Soudal) held on to take the overall win. Megias was Team Novo Nordisk’s best‐placed rider overall in 41 st position.

 

“This was my first World Tour stage race, so I’m pretty happy that I was able to finish. It was a really hard race with 200 riders starting and less than 100 riders finishing,” Planet said. “I’m only 22‐years‐old, so I learned so much during these long stages. I hope this week pays off at the next race in Denmark.”

 

Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all diabetes pro cycling team, returns to racing on July 27 th with the five‐day PostNord Danmark Rundt.

 

Quiet finish for Giant-Alpein in Poland

Koen De Kort finished 2’18” off the pace in 46th over the 25km course, with Bert De Backer, Zico Waeytens and Johannes Fröhlinger finishing in 64th, 71st, and 77th places respectively.

 

Johannes Fröhlinger was the team’s best ranked rider in 47th place in the final GC.

 

“Without Tobias [Ludvigsson] we did have the possibility of achieving a top result today. Therefore Koen was our best finisher today in 46th place,” said coach Morten Bennekou.

 

“In general it has been a hard race in Poland due to the very long stages and the extreme weather conditions. With three top 10 places on individual stages, I think we managed to show ourselves in a good way. In addition, this race also served as a good preparation for the upcoming races including the Vuelta.”

 

Gazprom-Rusvelo sprinter confirms his potential in Poland

Gazprom-Rusvelo mostly excelled in the sprint stages where Romain Maikin was in the top 10 on several occasions.

 

"I was pleased with the high level of organization and the way the locals warmly greeted the bicycle caravan, even in the smallest towns," said.

 

"For our team, the Tour of Poland is particularly important, as it is part of the UCI WorldTour calendar, where the fight among the best riders of the world takes place.

 

"I went in to the stage race in great shape and in a fighting spirit, especially in the first four stages, as their final segments fit my sprinter specialization. All the guys tried to help me: supported, covered, rode me up and into advantageous positions for the sprint.

 

"I was pleased with my performance, despite the fact that I was unable to win; every time I gave it 100%, not thinking about tomorrow.

 

"Unfortunately, due to an unfortunate fall, Ivan Savitsky withdrew from the race. I wish him a speedy recovery and return to the peloton.

 

"It was upsetting that I had to leave the Tour de Pologne on the 5th stage, but I completed it, working to the max for my partners and giving it my all to the point that my feet simply could not pedal."

 

Cold conditions take Jean-Christophe Peraud out on Tour de Pologne contention

Ag2r sports director Didier Jannel assessed the race for his team.

 

"We just finished a difficult Tour of Poland where we have not been spared from bad luck. After two crashes on the first two stages, the third day was fatal to Matteo Montaguti. He was forced to retire after a third crashwhen he broke his right collarbone. He hopes to be back soon.

 

"In the GC, Jean-Christophe Péraud spent first four stages without a problem. The 5th stage with the finish in Zakopane was apocalyptic with nearly 90 riders abandoning and the grupetto crossing the line at 7:30 p.m.! Unfortunately we lost Jean-Christophe, shivering from the cold conditions and no longer able to continue. On this day, neo professional Nico Denz was19th after two crashes. He was the surprise of this week and showed true fighting qualities, like the group who completed the event. The last day was a TT in Krakow, Hugo Houle finished in 12th position with a nice average power output. This is encouraging for his participation in the Olympics. "

 

VERVA in the top 20 in season highlight

Pawel Cieslik from VERVA ActiveJet Team finished 19th overall.

 

In the time trial the top ranked rider from VERVA ActiveJet Team was Adam Stachowiak in 36th place. 62nd place allowed Paul Cieslik to take 19th in the general classification and he was the best Pole.

 

"Certainly I had hoped for more. I wanted to be in the top 10, but the weather conditions marred this year's competition. The hardest stage was canceled, and the day before I was able to compete with the best, but some mistakes cost me. As consolation H ave the victory in the classification for the best Polish rider and the confirmation that the form was very good. I have to use it in the next races," he said,

 

Tour de Pologne race director: The young talents were in the spotlight

”The Tour de Pologne gave us plenty of thrills in this edition as well, confirming its reputation for bringing especially the young talents in the group to the limelight," declared the General Manager fort the Tour de Pologne Czeslaw Lang. "The first stages featured great final sprint victories by Gaviria, Bonifazio and Martinelli. Then there were the two mountain stages which traditionally decide the race. Unfortunately, lousy weather conditions worked against us, forcing us to cancel the stage in Bukowina. It was a difficult decision but it was the right thing to do, to protect the safety of the riders. However, in Zakopane we saw an exciting stage with a great winner. Wellens pulled off a feat from other times, with a long break and a fantastic solo move in the final, which in fact delivered him the victory in this Tour de Pologne. It was a punishing day for the group, which nonetheless catapulted those riders like Wellens, who love a hard race and who manage to shine in situations where difficult weather comes in to play."