Tour de Pologne 2019: Stage 6

Hello and welcome to the Cyclingnews live coverage of stage 6 of the Tour de Pologne. 

Tour de Pologne race hub

Tour de Pologne stage 5: Mezgec wins stage 5 sprint

Bjorg Lambrecht – Obituary

Jelle Wallays on teammate Bjorg Lambrecht: For me, he will always be 'Little One'

As we join the racing, the peloton is on the climb of the day yet again, with 83km left to race.

The riders face five 29km laps. 

Each one includes the steep climb up to Pitoniówka, with the Gubałówka climbved once in the finale before the descent to the finish in Kościelisko

The stages is likely to be vital in shaping the final overall classification along with Friday's 153km final stage to Bukowina Tatrzańska.

80km remaining from 155km

From the CN blimp we can see the break of the day but Team Ineos is leading the peloton at 2:20.  

There are four riders away. 

They are Marczynski, Geschke, Bouchard and Vakoc.

75km remaining from 155km

As the peloton hits the steep part of the climb the gap is down to 1:55.

There is a fake Didi the Devil on the climb but the riders ignore him.

Nikita Stalnov (Astana) is leading Ineos at the front of  the peloton. Astana are no-doubt riding for Miguel Angel Lopez and/or Dario Cataldo. 

Marczynski is flying the flag for Lotto Soudal as they look to win a stage to remember Bjorg Lambrecht, who tragically died after crashing during stage 3.

On Wednesday evening, Lotto Soudal team doctor Maarten Meirhaeghe released information regarding the cause of Bjorg Lambrecht's death.

Meirhaeghe said that Lambrecht suffered a severe laceration to his liver that caused an internal hemorrhage and a cardiac arrest.

Click here to read more.

68km remaining from 155km

The gaps drops to 1:45 as the rolling stage continues to be a wearing down process.

Tomasz Marczynski (Lotto Soudal), Simon Geschke (CCC Team), Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R La Mondiale) and Petr Vakoc (Deceuninck-QuickStep) are all strong riders but we can expect the race to explode on the final climb.

The riders are heading to the finish line yet again, enjoying the cooling effect of the air. It's another hot day in the saddle in the Polish summer.

Our man on the ground in Poland Alasdair Fotheringham has again reconned the finish, pointing  out there is nasty little 150-200 metre kick-up to finish after very fast descent off last climb.

The  road is wide but rises at about 7-8 percent all the way to the finish line.

61km remaining from 155km

We stand corrected, the riders are close to the intermediate sprint but don't go through the finish area. 

57km remaining from 155km

Vasil Kiryienka is again doing the hard work on the front for Ineos.

54km remaining from 155km

Astana and Jumbo are also moving up to the front as the riders approach the series of climbs. 

As the first kick-up ends, riders in the break grab bidons. 

Jumbo are now on the front and setting the pace. The gap is down to 1:35.

The peloton has split due to the speed set by Jumbo on the front.

This is going to hurt. 

48km remaining from 155km

The break turns onto the road with a lad of just 45 seconds.

The road is a single lane now as it winds up the climb. 

There are just 30 or so riders in the peloton. 

The neutral service car and moto are waved past the break. They must now know they will soon be pulled back.

As the gradient kicks in, the break explodes.

Simon Geschke (CCC Team) pushes on alone but the peloton can see him. 

43km remaining from 155km

Surprisingly the peloton eases and the 4 reform. 

But the longer climb of the circuit hurts and the peloton eventually catches the break. 

Gruppo compatto. 

40km remaining from 155km

We have a new attack as the climb hurts and makes a selection.

There are three groups spread down the road.

On the fast descent there are ten or so riders up front.

With other smaller groups chasing hard. 

The riders are touching 70km/h on the fast descent.

Tao Geoghegan Hart is in the front  group and nudges along the speed.  15 or so riders have come together now. 

Majka is there for Bora and other overall contenders. 

But they have yet to commit to riding all out to stay away. 

Yet this seems to be the selection. Their team cars are behind them, meaning there is no real chase group behind.  

The riders will soon hit the first of the three final climbs that will decide the stage.

27km remaining from 155km

Ben Swift is in the second group that is chasing to close down group 1.

Tsgabu Grmay is now on the attack from the front group for Mitchelton-Scott. The Ethiopian rider has a small gap on the field as the race heads down a decent.

22km remaining from 155km

A peloton of about 25 riders is chasing the leader.

Team Ineos' Ben Swift has jumped away from the group and is trying to bridge to Grmay.

17km remaining from 155km

Swift has joined Grmay and the duo are working well together. They have 43 seconds on the reduced peloton, which is being dragged along currently by Astana's Miguel Angel Lopez

16km remaining from 155km

Swift has dropped Grmay and is on his own now, climbing for all he's worth to build his gap. The Briton is hunched over the bars on the steepest pitch.

16km remaining from 155km

Swift is still up the road, but the reduced peloton has got him in sight on the penultimate climb

Tao Geoghegan Hart, Davide Formolo, Pavel Sivakov and Rafal Majka are all present in the front group

There's currently not much cooperation among the chasers. Advantage Swift!

13km remaining from 155km

Sivakov and Geoghegan Hart have been marking all the moves in the chase for their teammate Swift up the road. Team Ineos are sitting in good position at the moment as Swift powers on.

Team Sunweb's Jai Hindley attacks and is marked by Sivakov. Pozzovivo gives a dig, but nothing, it seems, is going to drop these two Team Ineos riders

Mikel Nieve goes next, with a similar result.

10km remaining from 155km

Swift is still out front, as Sivakov is marking a move from Jumbo-Visma and Sunweb, but they've got the leaders in their sights 

There's one climb remaining, and Swift's move has put Team Ineos in prime position

The final climb is 4.5km. Swift has 17 seconds on the chasing trio and just a fraction more to the reduced peloton.

A quartet of riders – Jumbo, Sunweb, James Knox (Deceuninck-QuikcStep) and Sivakov – are closing in on the leader

6km remaining from 155km

Knox has dropped, but the others have caught Swift. Swift is dropped!

6km remaining from 155km

The new lead trio is Pavel Sivakov (Team Ineos), Jai Hindley (Team Sunweb) and Jumbo-Visma's Jonas Vingegaard, who is on the front setting the pace

5km remaining from 155km

The leaders are approaching the final climb. It looks like the stage winner will come from this group

Knox has past Swift on the road, but they're no longer racing for a podium spot back there.

4km remaining from 155km

The leaders are on the final climb, and the reduced bunch has caught Knox. Swift, Knox and Formolo have now dropped from the first chase group

3km remaining from 155km

Vingegaard continues to tap out the pace for the leaders at they approach the top of the final climb

Sivakov takes over the front as they crest the climb and power over a flat section

3km remaining from 155km

The leaders are going slightly uphill again before the descent proper begins.

Formolo has come back to the chase group and has gone to the front for Majka to power the chase. This isn't over yet, folks!

1km remaining from 155km

Sivakov continues to lead the lead trio down the descent

Hindley attacks with 1.5km t go. He's got a gap, but Sivakov is closing and has made contact. The trio is together

Vingegaard attacks and gets the win!

It's the first professional win for the 22-year-old Dane. He's obviously ecstatic!

As Hindley led the group, Vingegaard attacked from the third position and opened a gap. Sivakov tried to close it down but could not get back on terms, beat into second by the Dane.

Vingegaard's effort lifts him into the overall lead by four seconds over Sivakov and six seconds over Hindley.

Behind the lead trio, EF Education First's Sergio Higuita finished fourth, eight seconds later. Majka, Latour, Formolo, Geogheagn Hart, Hamilton and Ulissi all finished two seconds further back.

In case you missed the news earlier today, Mark Cavendish abandoned the Tour de Pologne today, saying he wants to prepare for the European championships. Alasdair Fotheringham has the story HERE.

Tour de Pologne stage 6 top 10

1 Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Team Jumbo-Visma 4:07:13
2 Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Team Ineos
3 Jai Hindley (Aus) Team Sunweb
4 Sergio Andres Higuita Garcia (Col) Equipo Euskadi 0:00:08
5 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:10
6 Pierre Latour (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
7 Davide Formolo (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
8 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Ineos
9 Christopher Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb
10 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates

General classification after stage 6

1 Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Team Jumbo-Visma 22:14:07
2 Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Team Ineos 0:00:04
3 Jai Hindley (Aus) Team Sunweb 0:00:06
4 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:17
5 Sergio Andres Higuita Garcia (Col) Equipo Euskadi 0:00:18
6 Pierre Latour (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:19
7 Davide Formolo (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:20
8 Christopher Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb
9 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
10 James Knox (GBr) Deceuninck-QuickStep

Did you hear that Vincenzo Nibali signed a two-year deal with Trek-Segafredo? Read more about it HERE

Speaking of transfer news, Movistar have signed Enric Mas from Deceuninck-QuickStep and named the young Spaniard their new Grand Tour GC rider. Read more HERE

In an important story, former Pro Jani Brakjovic has posted a blog on his personal website about the eating disorders that plagued his days on the bike and those of many of his teammates throughout the years. Read more HERE

Friday's final sateg at the 2019 Tour de Pologne will take the peloton on another day through the mountains, beginning at the Bukovina Resort and concluding in Bukowina Tatrzańska 153.3km later

The stage takes in five categorised climbs [all cat. 1] and a final rise before the finish.

If you've been wondering what 2019 Tour de France winner Egan Bernal has been up to since making history as the first Colombian winner of the Grand Boucle, we've got you covered.
 

Check out our story and gallery about his Colombian homecoming in Zipaquirá HERE