Tim Merlier Returns to Winning in Poland!
1Sprinter Tim Merlier from Soudal – Quick Step seems to enjoy racing in the Tour de Pologne. In his second participation in this race, he secured his third stage victory. Today, he was clearly the best in Katowice, defeating Jordi Meeus and yesterday’s winner, Olav Kooij.
The organizers prepared an interesting stage today for the riders competing in the 81st Tour de Pologne, with the start and finish in Katowice. The route largely led through the hills of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland. Three riders broke away after the start – Polish champion Norbert Banaszek, Xabier Mikel Azparren (Q36.5), and Johan Jacobs (Movistar). The escapees set a strong pace, gaining a few minutes’ advantage over the peloton. At the intermediate LOTTO sprint prime in Jaworzno, Norbert Banaszek was the best, also winning the sprint in Mysłowice, thus becoming the leader of the LOTTO most active rider classification.
“Today’s stage was very warm and very fast. The three of us escaped, and I had one goal–to grab points in two intermediate sprints, which I accomplished 100%, and I’m satisfied with myself. If you have a 40-second lead with 15 kilometers to go and 12 sprint trains chasing behind, there’s no chance of holding the escape. If we had at least two minutes over the peloton, there would have been a chance, and I would have definitely ridden to the finish as hard as I could. For me, not having a radio today was quite normal – I regularly race in a third-division team, where 80% of the time we race without a radio, so I feel special when I race with one. I know that tomorrow Michał Paluta and Marcin Budziński plan to attack on the climb, and I’ll try to ride calmly to the finish, and on Sunday, I’ll stay alert,” explained Norbert Banaszek.
At the only PZU mountain sprint in Ojców, Johan Jacobs won, while Polish rider Michał Paluta retained the lead.
“The pace was really high today, so big respect to Norbert Banaszek, who rode with good riders on the climb. No one had a radio today, we only knew the gap from the motorcyclists, so I suspect that the sprint teams didn’t want to risk it and, as they say, ‘kept the breakaway on a short leash.’ Tomorrow is the most important day for me,” said the leader of the PZU King of the Mountains classification.
The special Decathlon sprint in Bukowno was won by the third escapee, Xabier Mikel Azparren. The breakaway fought bravely and stayed ahead of the main group, but the sprint teams proved stronger and caught the escape a few kilometers before the finish after a strong chase. It wasn’t easy for the main group either, and the lack of radio communication made the race more exciting, with the breakaway holding the lead for a long time.
“Especially in the grand tours, cycling is strongly directed by sports directors, and it often happens that only the top climbers and sprinters have a chance to win, while a large group of cyclists is deprived of the opportunity to show themselves. The lack of radio gives more freedom to cyclists who until now were only forced to work. Now, without earpieces, the chances are much greater– if there had been a few more riders in the breakaway today, they would have made it. I’m sure situations like this will happen. It seems to me that this levels the playing field. The lack of earpieces and manual directing of cyclists beautifully opens up the peloton,” said Czesław Lang, General Director of the Tour de Pologne.
The victory was decided by a sprint finish at the Spodek Arena in Katowice, where Tim Merlier from Soudal – Quick Step was the fastest, confirming that he is one of the best sprinters in the world. For the Belgian, this is his third stage win in the Tour de Pologne.
“I have to thank Ayco Bastiaens, who worked at the front all day. I had to win the stage to repay him for his effort. The guys made sure I was in the front, we set a strong pace, and I attacked at the right moment. It was a tough sprint, but I managed to win. It was very warm today, but I’m happy to be back in Poland and to start the second part of the season with a win. The most important thing is to stay at the highest level,” said Tim Merlier.
Jordi Meeus from Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe and Olav Kooij from Team Visma | Lease a Bike, who won yesterday in Prudnik, finished in the next positions. His teammate, Jonas Vingegaard, retained the yellow jersey as the leader of the ORLEN general classification.
Tomorrow’s stage will be crucial for the outcome of the race. The riders will face a mountainous stage from Wadowice to Bukowina Tatrzańska.
Best riders on stage 5 of 81st Tour de Pologne
DRUTEX Stage Winner: Tim Merlier (Soudal – Quick Step)
DECATHLON Team General Classification: Soudal – Quick Step
ENERGA GRUPA ORLEN Prime for the Best Polish Rider: Stanisław Aniołkowski (Cofidis)
Polish Television Special Prize: Stanisław Aniołkowski (Cofidis)
Decathlon Special Prize: Xabier Mikel Azparren (Q36.5)
Leaders of the classification in the 81st Tour de Pologne after 5 stages
ORLEN General Classification: Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma I Lease a Bike)
PZU Best Climber Classification: Michał Paluta (Polish National Team)
ENERGA Sprinter Classification: Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates)
LOTTO Most Active Rider Classification: Norbert Banaszek (Polish National Team)