Less than 24 hours after Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale were lamenting a major lost opportunity at the Tour de Pologne when their sprinter Sam Bennett crashed late on stage 1, a well-timed dash for the uphill finish line on stage 2 by Paul Lapeira meant the French squad could celebrate an unexpected but well-deserved victory - and the leader's jersey as well.
Not considered a pre-stage favourite for the short but punishing climb at Karpacz in south-west Poland, Decathlon nonetheless made their presence known at the foot of the three-kilometre, 6.7% ascent. The French team headed the fast-dissolving front peloton before Ineos Grenadiers' Michal Kwiatkowski took over and set down a blistering pace for his teammate Magnus Sheffield.
However, Lapeira was close behind the Pole and the US rider. After Sheffield was swamped, and digs by top contenders like Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) fizzled out too early, the former French National Champion made his move and darted away 150 metres from the line.
A few seconds later, Lapeira claimed the second WorldTour victory of his four-year career, after a stage of Itzulia Basque Country in April 2024. But equally important, the Frenchman also netted his first-ever stage race lead, and his double success meant his difficult first part of the season was definitively behind him.
Lapeira would not reveal what his bizarre victory salute - making circling gestures with his hands around his ears, then punching one fist in the air - actually meant. But his finely-calculated win on one of Pologne's best-known ascents, where riders as well-known as Matej Mohoric, Tim Wellens and Thibau Nys have all triumphed, represents a major success for the 25-year-old nonetheless.
"It was a very hard-fought win, there was a lot of tension in the last 60 kilometres," Lapeira said afterwards. "The team did a great job to get me up there in the final, and having that good position was crucial to helping me get the win.
"I felt very good but I made sure I held back as long as possible to be certain of attacking at just the right moment. When I got to the front of the race, I gave it everything in the last 200 metres."
Lapeira said he had no idea what kind of gap he had opened with his final acceleration, which proved enough to net him a 2-second advantage over second place Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) and Victor Langelotti (Ineos Grenadiers). But it was testament to the strength of his effort that despite the shortness of the climb, the peloton had shattered completely behind him.
"I had no idea where anybody was, I wasn't looking back," Lapeira said afterwards. "I just looked at the finish line, I didn't know anything until I watched a video afterwards.
"Winning today, in any case, makes me feel great after such a tough start to the year. I knew that I'd trained well in these last few weeks at home, but you always need to make sure that hard work actually counts for something in a race, too."
Now nursing an eight-second advantage overall, Lapeira could well gain some more time on Wednesday's equally demanding, hilly run through south-west Poland, to try and keep the lead. But his main goal in Pologne, he said, has already been achieved.
"We'll do everything we can to defend the lead," he said, "But whatever happens from now on, Pologne can be considered a success both for me and for the team."
