Tour de Pologne: Van Poppel claims stage 5 in Rzeszow

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Danny van Poppel (Team Sky) finally claimed a stage victory in the 2017 Tour de Pologne, taking the sprint from a crash-reduced peloton on a short, fast and rainy stage 5 to Rzeszow over Luka Mezgec (Orica-Scott) and Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe).

Van Poppel, who led the race after stage 2, upgraded his three podium finishes so far in the race to leap onto the top step thanks to a full-on team effort from his Sky lead-out train that pulled back a late attack from Dimension Data’s Youcef Reguigui and delivered the Dutchman to the front in time to avoid a wreck in the final bend.

Sagan once again finished in the time bonuses to extend his lead in the general classification over Dylan Teuns (BMC) and his own teammate Rafal Majka, both of whom were caught behind the crash in the final bend of the stage but were awarded the same time for the general classification.

How it unfolded

Maximilian Schachmann (Quick-Step Floors) was the best-placed rider in the day's breakaway, joining Maxime Monfort (Lotto-Soudal), Tejay Van Garderen (BMC Racing Team), Antwan Tolhoek (LottoNL-Jumbo) and Moreno Moser (Astana) off the front on a short, intense 130km stage to Rzeszow.

With the GC battle still tight, the breakaway was given little room to breathe, earning a maximum of 2:50 with 60 kilometres to go.

Unfortunately for Schachmann, his spell in the virtual race lead came crashing down as the skies opened up with 27 kilometres remaining and he slid out in a sharp right turn. There was no time for the rest of the riders to wait, and the Quick-Step rider was out of the move.

The other four escapees soldiered on through a sinuous cityscape littered with signage, inflatables and sponsor logo-laden barriers, but few fans as the spectators took shelter from the summer storm.

With 22.5 kilometres to go, the quartet gently wound their way out of the finishing chute for the final lap, enjoying a 1:25 lead on the peloton. UAE Team Emirates had the peloton lined out with race leader Sagan not far behind, staying out of trouble on the rain-slicked roads.

As the race moved out of Rzeszow, the skies cleared and roads dried for the frenetic push to the finish.

On the final climb with 13 kilometres to go, the four leaders' gap had been slashed to just 20 seconds thanks to a concerted effort from Team Sky. On the steepest part of the climb, the peloton bore down on the leaders and the cars desperately tried to squeeze past the leaders as van Garderen launched an attack.

The American's acceleration relegated his former companion Monfort to pack fodder, with Moser the next caught, but the BMC rider's lead was just 10 seconds as he crested the climb and hurtled down through wildflower fields toward the finish.

Sunweb took over the chasing, finally sweeping past Tolhoek with 10km to go.

Van Garderen had a dozen seconds over the bunch as they rode back toward the dark clouds that still hung over the finish. The last of the motorbikes left the gap with 3.7 kilometres to go, and though the American continued to press on, the Sky-led bunch was on his wheel with three kilometres remaining.

The rain had stopped but the roads were still wet as the Sky lead-out train brought the peloton into the final turn and behind, a crash from a Cannondale-Drapac rider blocked the majority of the peloton, leaving a dozen riders fighting for the stage.

Reguigui launched an attack with one kilometre to go, but was mowed down by Sky, who dropped Van Poppel off at the front. The Dutchman started the sprint, but held on to take the win over Mezgec and Sagan.

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