The fifth stage of the Tour de Pologne was ridden on a relatively hilly course this Wednesday, but finished with a chaotic sprint in the streets of Rzeszów.
Dutchman Boy van Poppel rode most of the day in the front as part of the early breakaway of eight riders, until the foot of the last climb with top 8 kilometer before the finish.
Nobody made use of the slopes of this climb, so a complete peloton headed towards the sprint. But a massive crash in the final kilometer split the peloton, leaving only six riders sprinting for the victory.
Gerben Thijssen crashed in the slipstream of Hugo Page, who took over the role of his sprinter and finished seventh. Quinten Hermans stays third in the provisional classification on the eve of the time trial.
« We have a very solid and close-knit team here in Poland and we were already rewarded with a nice win of Gerben Thijssen and a third place of Quinten Hermans. Unfortunately, the last two stages luck was not on our side. The finals of the stages are usually very fast here and the final kilometers are quite technical. Two days in a row we were hindered by a crash in front of us. Yesterday Quinten and I had to deviate through grass, today Gerben crashed. It’s a pity, because Quinten definitely had the capabilities to win bonus seconds in the final sprint and move up in GC. With Gerben we have another chance on the final day. Personally, I’m happy with my contribution in the approach of the sprints and satisfied about my feeling uphill, after more than six weeks without competition. »
