Except for one climb, all difficulties of this Tour de Pologne (2.UWT, 9-15/8) are behind the back after this fifth stage. A breakaway of six rider passed the three hills of first category first. Just like the previous days, the peloton controlled the advantage of the leaders. But three riders managed to bridge to Jonas Rickaert, last survivor of the early breakaway, and animate the final until 3 kilometer before the finish. The peloton rode again on a high pace on the three local laps, avoiding breakaway attempts. The sprint was marred by crashes involving Biniam Girmay Hailu. The Eritrean rider reached the finish without serious harm. Quinten Hermans sprinted in the lead for a long time, but was overtaken by five riders in the final meters. The German sprinter Nikias Arndt was the fastest uphill. Lorenzo Rota, Quinten Hermans and Biniam Girmay Hailu gained some positions in the provisional classification and are now 5th, 11th and 15th respectively.
We had a nice sprint train for Biniam, but unfortunately we didn't immediately realize that he crashed. It's a pity, because with his fast legs this was a nice opportunity to win. It slowed down a little in the approach of the sprint, that's when Lorenzo and I lost each other. So I chose the slipstream of Tim Wellens. He went from far and consequently, I had to start my sprint early. Or, I wasn't strong enough, or, I sprinted too early. The competition is high and that won't be different for the time trial. We'll give everything tomorrow at the time trial to stay as high as possible in the general classification!
This Saturday, the peloton will be in Katowice for an individual time trial through the historical centre. The technical and flat event is the penultimate stage at this Tour de Pologne.
