4 DRUTEX stage winners, 7 beautiful stories

Spectacular victories and beautiful stories. Triumphs of well-known and rising stars. The 81st Tour de Pologne has gone down in history, but there are many reasons to return to it. We will begin our journey back in time to the August competition with a presentation of the DRUTEX stage winners.

It has been several weeks since the 81st Tour de Pologne ended, but this year’s edition of the race has stayed in our hearts for a long time. Like every previous edition, it wrote many beautiful stories. For seven days, we were able to enjoy the biggest cycling event in this part of Europe, where the top riders of World Tour teams competed for victory.

This year, four cyclists became the winners of the DRUTEX stage — Thibau Nys, Tim Wellens, Olav Kooij, and Tim Merlier.

It all started at the Centennial Hall in Wrocław, from where the cyclists set off towards Karpacz. There, they finished on the difficult climb up to Orlinek. Many riders tried to use the ascent to attack, but after many reshuffles, the best was Belgian Thibau Nys from the Lidl-Trek team, who confirmed his great talent.

“I’ve won a stage in every stage race I’ve participated in this year, something I could only dream of before the season started — it’s even better than I thought. Wearing the leader’s jersey is incredible. It’s a wonderful feeling,” said the Belgian after his first victory in the 81st Tour de Pologne.

Although he didn’t retain the ORLEN general classification leader’s jersey, he extended his moment of glory in the following days.

The next day, the riders competed in an individual time trial from Mysłakowice to Karpacz. The mountainous route suggested that specialists in this terrain would fight for the win. There was one favorite — Jonas Vingegaard, two-time Tour de France winner and stage winner of the 2019 Tour de Pologne. However, at Orlinek, the Dane had to concede victory to Tim Wellens from UAE Team Emirates, the current Belgian time trial champion. In the past, Wellens had won the overall classification of the Tour de Pologne.

“This victory was different from my last one in Poland. Today, I didn’t expect to win because there are many good riders here, especially Jonas, but I’m very happy to have won,” said the winner of stage 2.

The next day, the Belgian series was continued by Thibau Nys, who once again raised his arms in triumph, this time at Jamrozowa Polana in Duszniki-Zdrój, where he was once again the best in a sprint from a selected group. He dedicated his triumph to his teammate Ryan Gibbons, who had to withdraw from the race due to a crash.

On the fourth day, it was the sprinters’ turn, and the DRUTEX stage winner was Olav Kooij from Team Visma | Lease a Bike. The Dutch sprinter demonstrated incredible speed in Prudnik — the hometown of Stanisław Szozda — and claimed yet another victory on Polish soil. In the past, he had already won stages at the Tour de Pologne and the ORLEN Nations Grand Prix. The next stage also ended with a sprint from the peloton. Under the Spodek in Katowice, Tim Merlier from Soudal — Quick Step, also familiar with the taste of victory in Poland, triumphed. “I’m happy to be back in Poland and to start the second part of the season with a victory,” said the Belgian.

On the penultimate day of the 81st Tour de Pologne, the “queen” stage was planned from Wadowice to the iconic Bukowina Tatrzańska. At BUKOVINA Resort, Thibau Nys triumphed again, becoming the DRUTEX stage winner for the third time.

Everything ended with the traditional finish at Błonia in Kraków, where once again the sprinters fought for the win. For the second time, the fastest was Olav Kooij — the Dutchman’s joy was even greater as his teammate Jonas Vingegaard defended his overall victory in the ORLEN general classification.

Here are the DRUTEX stage winners of the 81st Tour de Pologne — four outstanding cyclists who wrote seven beautiful stories!