Tour of Poland 2021 – Stage 1 [FULL STAGE] (polish)

August 9, 2021

Tour of Poland 2021 – Stage 1 – Lublin – Chełm : 216,4 km

The Tour de Pologne is the only WorldTour race in Poland, it offers a testing ground for talented young riders on some of the sport’s teams. Some may assume leadership in a week-long race for the first time, some will try to add a WorldTour win to their palmares. The route favours puncheurs and climbers who can hold their own in the 19-kilometre stage 6 time trial, although, due to a bizarre application of the time gaps measuring protocol, the race promises to be a battle for every second.

Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) stole away with the stage 1 victory at the Tour de Pologne. In a well-timed sprint, the German rider patiently gauged his effort to catch and pass early sprinter Álvaro Hodeg (Deceuninck-QuickStep) on the cobbled finish line while Hugo Hofstetter (Israel Start-Up Nation) finished third in Chelm.

Bauhaus and his team watched as Deceuninck-QuickStep set the pace into the final and then as Hodeg launched his searing attack on the cobbled, five per cent uphill finish with 300 metres to go. It was an early move but Bauhaus bided his time and wound up a more controlled sprint effort, closing the gap to Hodeg before narrowly taking the stage victory.

Bauhaus enjoys a four-second lead in the overall classification over Hodeg, while breakaway rider Yevgeniy Fedorov (Astana-Premier Tech) sits in third place at four seconds and Hofstetter sits six seconds in arrears as the race heads into stage 2’s 200km race from Zamosc to Przemysl on Tuesday.

Organisers have worked to improve the safety of their race after last year’s horrific high-speed crash involving Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep), who was knocked into inadequate finish line barriers by Dylan Grownewegen (Jumbo-Visma) during a downhill sprint in Katowice and suffered serious head injuries.

They have installed Boplan plastic barriers which help absorb the impact of crashes and better protect riders from the dangers of road furniture, while also removing the unnecessarily dangerous high-speed downhill finish as in Katowice.

How it unfolded

The seven-day race kicked off with a 216km route between Lubin and Chelm. It offered three intermediate sprints at Batorz (44.5km), Godziszow (73km), and Krasnystaw (176km). The route also presented opportunities for mountain classification points over short, punchy climbs Blazek (49km), Antolin (64km), Hosznia Abramowska (105km), all averaging 5 per cent and ranging between 500 metres and 1.5 kilometres.

The second half of the route was relatively flat until the final in Chelm that included two circuits with an 800-metre-long section of cobbles located on the shallow-grade climb to the finish line.

An early breakaway cleared the field with Yevgeniy Fedorov (Astana-Premier Tech), Sean Bennett (Qhubeka NextHash) and Michal Paluta (Global 6 Cycling) gaining more than six minutes in the first 20km of the stage.

Paluta sprinted over the first KOM in Blazek to take full points while Fedorov took the full points offered at the first two intermediate sprints in Batorz and Godziszow, along with the mountain points at the second KOM in Antolin.

Paluta, again, secured the full mountain points over third and final ascent of Hosznia Abramowska that put him into the lead of the mountain classification with a total of eight points. He also took the sprint for time bonuses in Chlopkow at the 118km mark.

The time gap gradually dropped as the race progressed, to a more manageable two minutes largely due to the efforts UAE Team Emirates, Deceuninck-QuickStep and Bahrain Victorious, but once the gap had been partially closed, the teams eased slightly to allow the trio to dangle just ahead.

The gap was slashed in half with 50km to go and new attacks sprang out of the main field as riders sensed a fresh opportunity for a stage win. The three original escapees folded back into the mix as a group of six riders emerged. It was a short-lived effort and the race was all back together inside 45km from the finish. The field fanned out wide across the roads but the onslaught of attacks seemed inevitable as the race pressed on toward the final series of sharp climbs toward Chelm.

A late-race crash saw Aexis Renard (Israel Start-up Nation) needing support to get back in the race while Bora-Hansgrohe sprinter Pascal Ackermann, separately, abandoned the race. Michal Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) was the first over the line at the third and final intermediate sprint in Krasnystaw, with Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious) and Emils Liepins (Trek-Segafredo) close behind.

That set off a flurry of new attacks inside 35km that resulted in another three-rider breakaway with Jos van Emden (Team Jumbo-Visma), Tom Scully (EF Education-Nippo), Antoine Duchesne (Groupama-FDJ) quickly padding out a 40-second margin.

Behind the trio, Bahrain Victorious, Deceuninck-QuickStep and UAE Team Emirates continued to set a pace just fast enough to keep them at a manageable distance before pulling them back in with 14km to go.

Lotto Soudal, Trek-Segafredo, Ineos Grenadiers moved forward prepared for an organised leadout as they hit the finishing circuit. Ineos were the first to lead the field over the cobbled section toward the circuit’s finish line, for the first time, when several rider jumped ahead. They weren’t successful in holding a gap and the field were back together inside 5km. Barnabás Peák (Team BikeExchange) made a last-ditch acceleration but he too wasn’t strong enough to clear the field.

Deceuninck-QuickStep’s Remi Cavagna led the field through the twist and turns along the city streets and onto the cobbles with 800 metres to go, followed by his teammates.

Mohoric was the first to jump at 400m to go but his efforts didn’t stick and Hodeg was the next to start his sprint at 300 metres, clearing the field. It was an effort made too soon, and as he began to fade, Bauhaus had already covered the distance and had just enough left to surge around the Colombian to take the stage win.

Results :
1 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious 5:01:24
2 Alvaro Hodeg Chagui (Col) Deceuninck-QuickStep
3 Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation
4 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
5 David Dekker (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
6 Dion Smith (NZl) Team BikeExchange
7 Jonas Rickaert (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
8 Biniam Girmay (Eri) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
9 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain Victorious
10 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers
11 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
12 Marco Canola (Ita) Gazprom-RusVelo
13 João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck-QuickStep
14 Mikkel Honoré (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep
15 Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
16 Alessandro Covi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
17 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Alpecin-Fenix
18 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain Victorious
19 Jake Stewart (GBr) Groupama-FDJ
20 Quinten Hermans (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
21 Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Movistar Team
22 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) AG2R Citroën Team
23 Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Movistar Team
24 Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
25 Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
26 Davide Villella (Ita) Movistar Team
27 Vadim Pronskiy (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
28 Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) UAE Team Emirates
29 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Movistar Team
30 Logan Owen (USA) EF Education-Nippo
31 Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
32 Matteo Sobrero (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
33 Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
34 Silvan Dillier (Swi) Alpecin-Fenix
35 Jai Hindley (Aus) Team DSM
36 Ben Tulett (GBr) Alpecin-Fenix
37 John Degenkolb (Ger) Lotto Soudal
38 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
39 Clément Berthet (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
40 Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
41 Larry Warbasse (USA) AG2R Citroën Team
42 Max Kanter (Ger) Team DSM
43 Denis Nekrasov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
44 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation
45 Carlos Barbero (Spa) Qhubeka NextHash
46 George Bennett (NZl) Jumbo-Visma
47 Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
48 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
49 Stanislaw Aniolkowski (Pol) Poland
50 Attila Valter (Hun) Groupama-FDJ
51 Giovanni Aleotti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
52 Romain Seigle (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
53 Einer Rubio Reyes (Col) Movistar Team
54 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
55 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Team BikeExchange
56 Jonas Gregaard (Den) Astana-Premier Tech
57 Kobe Goossens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
58 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
59 Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
60 Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) Qhubeka NextHash
61 Alexis Renard (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation
62 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team
63 Maximilian Walscheid (Ger) Qhubeka NextHash
64 Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
65 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) Poland
66 Georg Zimmermann (Ger) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
67 Stefano Oldani (Ita) Lotto Soudal
68 Tanel Kangert (Est) Team BikeExchange
69 Matthias Brändle (Aut) Israel Start-up Nation
70 Tom Bohli (Swi) Cofidis
71 Filippo Conca (Ita) Lotto Soudal
72 Piotr Brozyna (Pol) Poland
73 Julius van den Berg (Ned) EF Education-Nippo
74 Senne Leysen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
75 Maciej Paterski (Pol) Poland
76 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Israel Start-up Nation
77 Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
78 Nans Peters (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
79 Tim Declercq (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
80 Amanuel Gehbreigzabhier (Eri) Trek-Segafredo
81 Gabriel Cullaigh (GBr) Movistar Team
82 Jorge Arcas (Spa) Movistar Team
83 Julien El Fares (Fra) EF Education-Nippo
84 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team DSM
85 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Bahrain Victorious
86 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
87 Romain Combaud (Fra) Team DSM
88 Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
89 Yevgeniy Fedorov (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
90 Fabian Lienhard (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
91 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cofidis 0:00:44
92 Niklas Märkl (Ger) Team DSM
93 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Jumbo-Visma
94 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team DSM
95 Owain Doull (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
96 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal
97 Daniel Arroyave Cañas (Col) EF Education-Nippo
98 Evgeny Shalunov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
99 Michal Golas (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers
100 Attilio Viviani (Ita) Cofidis
101 Davide Martinelli (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
102 Artem Nych (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
103 Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
104 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) EF Education-Nippo
105 Natnael Berhane (Eri) Cofidis
106 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
107 Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
108 Rob Power (Aus) Qhubeka NextHash
109 Alexander Konychev (Ita) Team BikeExchange
110 Filip Maciejuk (Pol) Poland
111 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
112 Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
113 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) UAE Team Emirates
114 Igor Boev (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
115 Patryk Stosz (Pol) Poland
116 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
117 Kevin Inkelaar (Ned) Bahrain Victorious 0:01:02
118 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Bahrain Victorious
119 Michael Hepburn (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:01:09
120 Kaden Groves (Aus) Team BikeExchange
121 Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
122 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) EF Education-Nippo 0:01:39
123 Luke Rowe (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
124 Taco van der Hoorn (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
125 Ryan Mullen (Irl) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:48
126 Norman Vahtra (Est) Israel Start-up Nation 0:01:53
127 Simon Clarke (Aus) Qhubeka NextHash 0:02:00
128 Anthony Jullien (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
129 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
130 Antoine Duchesne (Can) Groupama-FDJ 0:02:10
131 William Bonnet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
132 Barnabás Peák (Hun) Team BikeExchange
133 Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis
134 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
135 Stijn Steels (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:03:39
136 Patrick Bevin (NZl) Israel Start-up Nation
137 Xandres Vervloesem (Bel) Lotto Soudal
138 Andrey Amador (CRc) Ineos Grenadiers
139 Jos van Emden (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
140 Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education-Nippo
141 Sean Bennett (USA) Qhubeka NextHash
142 Marco Marcato (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
143 Ian Garrison (USA) Deceuninck-QuickStep
144 Clément Davy (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
145 Charlie Quarterman (GBr) Trek-Segafredo 0:04:23
146 Florian Stork (Ger) Team DSM
147 Michal Paluta (Pol) Poland 0:06:49
148 Mikkel Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates 0:07:17
DNF Kilian Frankiny (Swi) Qhubeka NextHash
DNF Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe

General Classification after Stage 1 :
1 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious 5:01:14
2 Alvaro Hodeg Chagui (Col) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:04
3 Yevgeniy Fedorov (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
4 Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation 0:00:06
5 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers 0:00:07
6 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain Victorious 0:00:08
7 Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:09
8 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:10
9 David Dekker (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
10 Dion Smith (NZl) Team BikeExchange
11 Jonas Rickaert (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
12 Biniam Girmay (Eri) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
13 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
14 Marco Canola (Ita) Gazprom-RusVelo
15 João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck-QuickStep
16 Mikkel Honoré (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep
17 Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
18 Alessandro Covi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
19 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Alpecin-Fenix
20 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain Victorious
21 Jake Stewart (GBr) Groupama-FDJ
22 Quinten Hermans (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
23 Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Movistar Team
24 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) AG2R Citroën Team
25 Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Movistar Team
26 Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
27 Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
28 Davide Villella (Ita) Movistar Team
29 Vadim Pronskiy (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
30 Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) UAE Team Emirates
31 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Movistar Team
32 Logan Owen (USA) EF Education-Nippo
33 Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
34 Matteo Sobrero (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
35 Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
36 Silvan Dillier (Swi) Alpecin-Fenix
37 Jai Hindley (Aus) Team DSM
38 Ben Tulett (GBr) Alpecin-Fenix
39 John Degenkolb (Ger) Lotto Soudal
40 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
41 Clément Berthet (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
42 Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
43 Larry Warbasse (USA) AG2R Citroën Team
44 Max Kanter (Ger) Team DSM
45 Denis Nekrasov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
46 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation
47 Carlos Barbero (Spa) Qhubeka NextHash
48 George Bennett (NZl) Jumbo-Visma
49 Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
50 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
51 Stanislaw Aniolkowski (Pol) Poland
52 Attila Valter (Hun) Groupama-FDJ
53 Giovanni Aleotti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
54 Romain Seigle (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
55 Einer Rubio Reyes (Col) Movistar Team
56 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
57 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Team BikeExchange
58 Jonas Gregaard (Den) Astana-Premier Tech
59 Kobe Goossens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
60 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
61 Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
62 Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) Qhubeka NextHash
63 Alexis Renard (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation
64 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team
65 Maximilian Walscheid (Ger) Qhubeka NextHash
66 Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
67 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) Poland
68 Georg Zimmermann (Ger) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
69 Stefano Oldani (Ita) Lotto Soudal
70 Tanel Kangert (Est) Team BikeExchange
71 Matthias Brändle (Aut) Israel Start-up Nation
72 Tom Bohli (Swi) Cofidis
73 Filippo Conca (Ita) Lotto Soudal
74 Piotr Brozyna (Pol) Poland
75 Julius van den Berg (Ned) EF Education-Nippo
76 Senne Leysen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
77 Maciej Paterski (Pol) Poland
78 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Israel Start-up Nation
79 Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
80 Nans Peters (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
81 Tim Declercq (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
82 Amanuel Gehbreigzabhier (Eri) Trek-Segafredo
83 Gabriel Cullaigh (GBr) Movistar Team
84 Jorge Arcas (Spa) Movistar Team
85 Julien El Fares (Fra) EF Education-Nippo
86 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team DSM
87 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Bahrain Victorious
88 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
89 Romain Combaud (Fra) Team DSM
90 Fabian Lienhard (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
91 Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis
92 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
93 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cofidis 0:00:54
94 Niklas Märkl (Ger) Team DSM
95 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Jumbo-Visma
96 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team DSM
97 Owain Doull (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
98 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal
99 Daniel Arroyave Cañas (Col) EF Education-Nippo
100 Evgeny Shalunov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
101 Michal Golas (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers
102 Attilio Viviani (Ita) Cofidis
103 Davide Martinelli (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
104 Artem Nych (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
105 Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
106 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) EF Education-Nippo
107 Natnael Berhane (Eri) Cofidis
108 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
109 Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
110 Rob Power (Aus) Qhubeka NextHash
111 Alexander Konychev (Ita) Team BikeExchange
112 Filip Maciejuk (Pol) Poland
113 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
114 Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
115 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) UAE Team Emirates
116 Igor Boev (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
117 Patryk Stosz (Pol) Poland
118 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
119 Kevin Inkelaar (Ned) Bahrain Victorious 0:01:12
120 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Bahrain Victorious
121 Michael Hepburn (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:01:19
122 Kaden Groves (Aus) Team BikeExchange
123 Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
124 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) EF Education-Nippo 0:01:49
125 Luke Rowe (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
126 Taco van der Hoorn (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
127 Ryan Mullen (Irl) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:58
128 Norman Vahtra (Est) Israel Start-up Nation 0:02:03
129 Simon Clarke (Aus) Qhubeka NextHash 0:02:10
130 Anthony Jullien (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
131 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
132 Antoine Duchesne (Can) Groupama-FDJ 0:02:20
133 William Bonnet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
134 Barnabás Peák (Hun) Team BikeExchange
135 Sean Bennett (USA) Qhubeka NextHash 0:03:47
136 Stijn Steels (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:03:49
137 Patrick Bevin (NZl) Israel Start-up Nation
138 Xandres Vervloesem (Bel) Lotto Soudal
139 Andrey Amador (CRc) Ineos Grenadiers
140 Jos van Emden (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
141 Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education-Nippo
142 Marco Marcato (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
143 Ian Garrison (USA) Deceuninck-QuickStep
144 Clément Davy (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
145 Charlie Quarterman (GBr) Trek-Segafredo 0:04:33
146 Florian Stork (Ger) Team DSM
147 Michal Paluta (Pol) Poland 0:06:55
148 Mikkel Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates 0:07:27