Tour de Pologne: Haig wins stage 6

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Jack Haig made his first professional victory a good one, taking stage 6 of the Tour de Pologne with a 20-kilometre solo attack over the viciously steep climbs into Zakopane. The Orica-Scott rider held a 51-second lead over the chasing group, led to the line by Wout Poels (Sky), with Bob Jungels (Quick-Step Floors) in third.

Overnight race leader Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) was distanced on a steep uncategorised climb with 30 kilometres remaining and lost several minutes, putting Dylan Teuns (BMC) – who finished at the back of the first chasing group – into the race lead. Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe) moved into second at six seconds, with Wilco Kelderman (Sunweb) third at 10 seconds.

With a smooth start to the day and a lumpy finish, the 189km trek from the Wieliczka Salt Mine to Zakopane was a day for the attackers, and two riders from stage 5's breakaway reprised their role as rabbits for the peloton: Antwan Tolhoek (LottoNl-Jumbo) and Moreno Moser (Astana), joined by Adam Stachowiak (Poland). They were initially joined by Bob Jungels (Quick-Step Floors), but the Luxembourg champion was too high up in the overall classification at 47 seconds for the move to survive if he stayed in.

The trio opened up a gap of almost five minutes, putting Tolhoek into the virtual race lead. It even went out to 5:30 as the peloton had to contend with a pony running in their midst with 104 kilometres to go, but soon, as the leaders entered the second half of the stage in the hills, their advantage dropped precipitously.

With 52 kilometres to go, Tolhoek put in a dig and left his companions behind. He was chased by Orica-Scott's Rob Power after Moser and Stachowiak were caught. Jan Trantik (CCC Sprandi-Polkowice) chased in no-man's land behind for a time, but was caught by the BMC-led bunch with 36 kilometres to go.

Power kept on pushing, holding half a minute through the unclassified climbs with 34 kilometres remaining, the course much hillier and heavy than the profile would indicate.

Power was finally reeled back in on a terrible unclassified climb with 29 kilometres to go, and soon race leader Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) was being shot out the back.

The next classified climb crested with 19.5 kilometres to go, and just before the top there was an attack from Jack Haig (Orica-Scott), who followed an acceleration from Samuel Sánchez (BMC) and Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale). Haig leapt away to snatch the mountain points at the top and then never looked back, gaining 50 seconds over the 13-rider chasing group with 10 kilometres to go.

That group included Sánchez and BMC teammates Tejay van Garderen and Dylan Teuns, Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe), Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha), Adam Yates (Orica), Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), Bob Jungels (Quick-Step), Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates), plus Wout Poels (Sky), Wilco Kelderman and Sam Oomen (Sunweb) and Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale).

Van Garderen and Sanchez chased for a time, but then dropped back, leaving Teuns unprotected from the attacks on the final ascent of Butorowy Wierch with nine kilometres to go. Poels, Yates, Majka, Kelderman, Costa and Zakarin got away over the top of the climb, but the GC conflict between them led to a lack of cooperation that allowed the chasing group with Teuns to rejoin.

It also helped Haig to open his gap to 51 seconds by the line. Teuns led the chasing group to the finish, with Poels opening up the sprint to take the six second time bonus over Jungels.

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