Paul Lapeira claimed victory in the second stage of the Tour of Poland. The former French champion proved strongest on the punchy finish in Karpacz. Lapeira also took over the leader’s jersey from Olav Kooij, who won the opening stage on Monday.
On day two of the Tour of Poland, a challenging stage was on the agenda. Along the route, the riders faced four categorized climbs: Przelecz Kowarska (5.5 km at 4.5%) right from the start, another side of Przelecz Kowarska (4.4 km at 4.2%) in the midsection, and twice the Przeleczy Srednica (3.8 km at 3.8%) in the penultimate section. After that came the final climb to Karpacz. The first part of the climb was 2.3 kilometers at an average gradient of 5.1%, followed by over 3 kilometers at 6.7%.
Karpacz) Karpacz)The breakaway of the day consisted of four riders. WorldTour riders Max Walker (EF Education-EasyPost) and Patrick Gamper (Jayco AlUla) were joined by two members of the Polish national team: Tomasz Budziński and Patryk Stosz. The four rode about four minutes ahead of the peloton. In the peloton, Visma | Lease a Bike, the team of leader Olav Kooij, controlled the pace, while INEOS Grenadiers also positioned themselves prominently at the front.
Walker goes solo
Towards the finale, Stosz dropped back due to mechanical problems. The three remaining attackers quickly lost ground approaching the finale, but the peloton then eased slightly, allowing their adventure to continue a bit longer—especially for Walker. At 22 kilometers from the finish, on the final ascent of Przeleczy Srednica, he dropped Gamper and Stosz to go solo. A smart move, as it turned out, because the Brit held strong in the following phase. At seven kilometers to go, he still had a fifty-second advantage.
Behrens set the tempo in the peloton for a long time - photo: Cor Vos
In the next two kilometers (which climbed steadily), Walker’s lead vanished like snow in the sun. After the EF Education-EasyPost rider was caught, the pace surged towards the last three rolling kilometers. While there was no real acceleration on this steep section, the tempo was incredibly high. In the last kilometre, Michał Kwiatkowski took up the chase, but it was Jan Christen who launched the sprint.
Only Finn Fisher-Black was initially able to follow the Swiss, but both faded somewhat in the final hundred meters. Then Paul Lapeira blasted past them. The former French champion of Decathlon AG2R won convincingly.
Tour de Pologne| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 03:29:58 | |
| 2 | + 02 | |
| 3 | " | |
| 4 | " | |
| 5 | " | |
| 6 | + 04 | |
| 7 | " | |
| 8 | " | |
| 9 | " | |
| 10 | " |
