Karpacz for the second time! Today is the fight against time

Cycling is a team sport, but there are moments when a rider is left to rely solely on themselves. This is especially true in individual time trials – a demanding test of strength and endurance in the battle against the clock and one’s own body. Today, on the challenging course from Mysłakowice to Orlinek in Karpacz, cyclists competing in the 81st Tour de Pologne will take on the race against time. Will Thibau Nys defend the yellow jersey as the leader of the ORLEN general classification?

The spectacular finish on the climb up the iconic Orlinek in Karpacz concluded the first stage of the 81st Tour de Pologne, which began at the Centennial Hall in Wrocław. The talented Thibau Nys had the most strength left for the final stretch, showcasing his endurance and dynamism to secure the stage victory. The 21-year-old Lidl-Trek rider also became the first leader of the ORLEN general classification and enters Tuesday’s stage with a 7-second lead over Wilco Kelderman (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), who is in second place.

Orlinek provided us with plenty of excitement, so we are thrilled to return there once again! Today’s individual time trial is scheduled on a course of just over 15 kilometers from Mysłakowice to the summit climb in Karpacz, which the riders have already experienced at race pace. Twenty-one years ago, Alberto Contador, who would later go on to win all three Grand Tours, claimed his first professional victory on a similar section of the Tour de Pologne! Will this time trial on Orlinek reveal another world-class star?

Such a scenario can never be ruled out, but the main favorite will be the great champion – Jonas Vingegaard. The Dane from Team Visma | Lease a Bike is a two-time winner of the Tour de France general classification, where he also triumphed in time trials. It’s worth remembering that his first road victory was recorded on the Tour de Pologne course in 2019. Now, he will be aiming for another title in the only stage race of the UCI World Tour in this part of Europe.

By finishing fourth yesterday, the Grand Tour specialist proved that he came here to win, and few can handle mountainous time trials as well as he can.

This type of individual uphill time trial, known as cronoscalata in Italian, favors riders who excel on climbs, those who can maintain a high pace over a relatively short distance while staying in a proper aerodynamic position. For this reason, it’s also worth mentioning former world champion Tobias Foss from INEOS Grenadiers, who, despite being 1 minute behind in the general classification, can still aim for a stage victory. Magnus Sheffield, his teammate, also has unfinished business with the time trial at the Tour de Pologne, as he narrowly missed out on victory in 2022.

We also shouldn’t discount other riders from the top of yesterday’s stage, including Rafał Majka from UAE Team Emirates, Wilco Kelderman (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), or Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious), last year’s Tour de Pologne winner. Thibau Nys will start the time trial wearing the yellow jersey as the leader of the ORLEN general classification, but he won’t be among the favorites. However, the distinctive jersey might give him an extra boost, and we’ll see how far it takes him. Also at the start will be the Polish time trial champion Filip Maciejuk (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe), as well as Will Barta (Movistar Team), Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates), and Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ).

These are the riders who should be competing today for the title of King of Orlinek in Karpacz and, in an optimistic scenario, for the lead in the ORLEN general classification.