Tour de Pologne: Mezgec wins stage 5

Luka Mezgec (Mitchelton-Scott) won stage 5 of the Tour de Pologne with a powerful uphill sprint in Bielsko-Biala. The Slovenian held off a late surge from Eduard Prades (Movistar) to claim his second victory of the week and move up to second place overall, 4 seconds behind yellow jersey Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe).

It was a day that saw the Tour de Pologne peloton return to racing after paying a poignant tribute to the late Bjorg Lambrecht on the neutralised stage to Kocierz on Tuesday afternoon. Lambrecht's Lotto Soudal team had felt that its riders should decide for themselves whether or not to continue in this Tour de Pologne, and all six opted to line up for the start at the Wieliczka Salt Mine, where the race resumed but the sense of mourning still lingered.

The day's early break featured Lambrecht's roommate from last year's Vuelta a España, Jelle Wallays, and after that move was caught on the category 1 ascent of Przegibek, another Lotto Soudal man, Carl Fredrik Hagen broke clear of the peloton near the summit. He would be caught on the descent but the significance the Lotto Soudal riders' impact on the day's proceedings extended far beyond the results sheet.

That ascent of Przegibek served to whittle down the peloton and remove a number of the established sprinters, though it was notable that both the yellow jersey Ackermann and Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) managed to stay the course on the ascent.

Their teams proceeded to control the front end of the peloton on the finishing circuit around Bielsko-Biala, combining to close down a dangerous move featuring Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Merida), Simon Geschke (CCC) and Tsgabu Grmay (Mitchelton-Scott), which at one point established a buffer of half a minute.

Team Ineos hit the front en masse on the third and final 7km lap, with Vasil Kiryienka especially prominent, but their high pace did not entirely dissuade later attackers. The stage finished atop a 2km drag towards the line, and Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) and Italian champion Davide Formolo (Bora-Hansgrohe) briefly threatened to upset the odds when they career clear with 1200 metres remaining.

They were eventually reeled in on the seemingly interminable finishing straight, where first Owain Doull and then Tao Geoghegan Hart provided a fine lead-out for Ben Swift. The British champion had Mezgec on his wheel, however, and, like everyone else, he was unable to match the ferocious acceleration of the Slovenian inside the final 130 metres.

Already a winner on the downhill sprint in Katowice on Sunday, Mezgec gave a further showcase of his current form by overpowering the opposition on the drag to the finish here. He has largely ridden in a supporting role during his tenure at Mitchelton-Scott but has enjoyed freedom and responsibility this week in Poland, where he has collected his first wins at WorldTour level since 2014.

Prades was the quickest rider over the last 50 metres, but the Spaniard had to come from a long, long way back and ran out of road before he could get close to Mezgec's coattails. Swift had the consolation of holding on for third in a finish that saw an eclectic mix of riders dispute the spoils.

Petr Vakoc (Deceuninck-QuickStep) took 4th ahead of Pierre Latour (AG2R La Mondiale), while Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe) underscored his GC credentials by placing 6th. For now, however, the yellow jersey remains on the shoulders of his teammate Ackermann, who rode well to make the front group on such a finale, but understandably was unable to make an impact on the uphill drag to the line.

Ackermann carries a lead of 4 seconds over Mezgec and 16 on Swift into Thursday's stage 6 to Zakopane, where the race's incursion into the Tatras Mountains will utterly change the complexion of the general classification.

How it unfolded

If Tuesday's neutralised homage to Bjorg Lambrecht was, to quote Leonard Cohen, a ritual response to an impossible event, then Wednesday's stage had the feel of an attempt at returning to some semblance of normality in the wake of that unspeakable tragedy.

After a subdued start in Wieliczka, the day's early break formed after 13km, when Charles Planet (Novo Nordisk), Kamil Gradek (CCC Team) and Szymon Rekita (Poland) forged clear, and they were joined shortly afterwards by Jelle Wallays (Lotto Soudal).

That quartet built up a maximum lead slightly in excess of three minutes as they crossed the day's category 2 ascents of Rychwałd and Hucisko, where Gradek claimed enough points to ensure Planet – part of the break for the fourth time on this race – would lose his lead in the mountains classification.

Bora-Hansgrohe's Maciej Bodnar kept tabs on the break's lead through much of the afternoon, but it was Mitchelton-Scott who took up the reins on the category 1 ascent of Przegibek, with Grmay particularly prominent. His pace-making saw the peloton shed of a number of established sprinters and also ensured that the escapees were caught with 34km to go.

Carl Fredrik Hagen and Nikita Stalnov (Astana) clipped off the front near the summit, but they were never granted much freedom. As soon as they were recaptured, Mohoric swooped down the descent and opened a small gap over the peloton, which then extended when Geschke and Grmay managed to bridge across once the road flattened out.

The finale comprised three laps of 7km finishing circuit, where this trio had 30 seconds in hand on the bunch before they were reeled in. Team Ineos moved with purpose on the final lap, but on that interminable drag to the line, nobody could quite match Mezgec.

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