Another day, another victory for this talented rider. Yesterday, Paul Magnier claimed victory in Cieszyn; today, it was Matthew Brennan from Team Visma | Lease a Bike who triumphed in Zakopane. The ORLEN General Classification leader remains Paul Lapeira from the French team Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale.
The challenging route from Katowice to Zakopane put the riders’ climbing skills to the test. Stage 5 of the 82nd Tour de Pologne UCI WorldTour began in Nikiszowiec, a historic mining district renowned for its unique red brick buildings. Amid the cheers of fans, the peloton set off towards the Małopolska region. There were two LOTTO Sprint Primes along the route, in Mysłowice and Wilamowice; two PZU Mountain Primes on the climbs to Kocierz and the Krowiarki Pass; and two Decathlon and DPD Special Sprints in Porąbka and Zawoja.
Following a fierce battle, a four-man breakaway formed featuring Jensen Plowright (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Huub Artz (Intermarché-Wanty), Martin Svrček (Trek-Segafredo) and Patrick Gamper (Team Jayco AlUla). Just like yesterday, the breakaway riders contested the primes among themselves. Jensen Plowright won the LOTTO Sprint Prime in Mysłowice, while Huub Artz won the one in Wilamowice. At the Decathlon Special Sprint in Porąbka, Plowright impressed again, winning the sprint. Patrick Gamper was the fastest on the steep climb to Kocierz, while Plowright took the DPD Special Prime in Zawoja and the PZU Mountain Prime at the Krowiarki Pass. At one point, the breakaway had a lead of over 7 minutes, but this was controlled by teams including Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, Team Visma | Lease a Bike, and INEOS Grenadiers. As they approached the final climb to Gubałówka, Bahrain Victorious set the pace and caught up with the breakaway group 11 km from the finish line.
During the final climb, riders such as Daniel Felipe Martínez (Team BikeExchange-Jayco), Jan Christen (Team UAE Emirates), Antonio Tiberi (Team Bahrain Victorious) and Marco Frigo (Team Israel Start-Up Nation) attempted attacks, but none were successful. It was only on the descent that Alberto Bettiol (Astana Qazaqstan Team) managed to create a small gap, with Jan Christen close behind. The pair fought hard to stay ahead of the peloton, but were eventually caught.
Matthew Brennan of Team Visma | Lease a Bike won the stage, outsprinting Ben Turner (INEOS Grenadiers) and Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek) from a reduced bunch. “’I came here hoping to win a stage, and the whole team was really motivated to make it happen. Olav was the best on the first stage, but we were still hungry for more wins, so I’m glad I could reward all the hard work the team put in. It was a tough day with a hectic finale. In the last few kilometres, I looked back and saw many more riders than I expected, which was interesting. I just focused on finding my way through. I launched my sprint a little earlier than planned, but I was determined to see it through. When I saw the 300-metre marker, I gave absolutely everything — and it paid off.” said stage winner Matthew Brennan.
Andrea Bagioli, who came third in Zakopane, added: ‘It was a very fast race. The breakaway was going really fast; they had built up a good lead, and catching them wasn’t easy. Then, on the final climbs, there were several attacks, one after another. At first, I thought I would lead out the sprint for my teammate Tim, but he told me he was tired and that I should go for it myself. The team did an incredible job. I sprinted, but they came at double speed from behind and I couldn’t close the gap. Third place still gives me confidence though. I’m happy; it was a really beautiful stage.”
The best-finishing Pole today was Rafał Majka (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who won the ORLEN VITAY Best Polish Rider Prime. “Today was a really hard stage, with lots of ups and downs. There were some unexpected strong surges. I felt worse than yesterday, but that’s normal after a crash. We can definitely win this race. Jan Christen is strong, so we’ll give it our all,” said Majka after the finish.
Patryk Stosz (Polish National Team) retained the lead in the LOTTO Most Active Rider Classification and will take home the blue jersey if he finishes the race. Another Polish representative, Tomasz Budziński, is third in the PZU Best Climber classification. “The fight to get into the break lasted about 20 kilometres – many teams were trying to make it, including me, because I wanted the mountain points. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. However, Piotr Pękala finished in the front group, so one of our team goals was met,” explained Budziński.
Belgian Timo Kielich (Alpecin-Deceuninck) is still wearing the PZU polka dot jersey and leads by 19 points over Patrick Gamper and 22 points over Budziński heading into tomorrow’s stage. “Tomorrow, there are a lot of points up for grabs on the mountain primes. I’m in a good position, but I’ll try to get into the breakaway and we’ll see. I wasn’t aiming for the jersey before the race, but three days ago I was in the breakaway and won some primes, so now I want to keep it,” said Kielich.
The ORLEN General Classification remains unchanged at the top. Paul Lapeira (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) is still in first place, with Victor Langellotti (INEOS Grenadiers) and Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) just seconds behind in second and third place respectively. ‘It was a long and tough day. We rode at the front of the peloton for a long time, and then other teams helped too. On the final climb, the pace was very high all the way to the finish. I feel good — I’m a bit tired, of course, but everything’s fine on the bike. Tomorrow will be a very hard stage. We’ll see how it goes, but I intend to defend the yellow jersey,” said Paul Lapeira.
Stage 6 will take place tomorrow on a challenging route from BUKOVINA Resort to Bukowina Tatrzańska. The ceremonial start is scheduled for 12:40, with the winner expected to finish at around 16:30.
Stage 5
1 BRENNAN Matthew 6 TVL – 10s 04h 50′ 04” 20p
2 TURNER Ben 87 IGD – 6s + 00′ 00” 19p
3 BAGIOLI Andrea 101 LTK – 4s + 00′ 00” 18p
GC
1 LAPEIRA Paul 55 DAT 21h 23′ 23”
2 LANGELLOTTI Victor 84 IGD 21h 23′ 31” + 00′ 08”
3 CHRISTEN Jan 172 UAD 21h 23′ 35” + 00′ 12”
