Sagan makes it two in Zakopane

Peter Sagan (Liquigas) took back-to-back wins in the Tour of Poland, distancing the remnants of the peloton on stage 5. The race leader rode a tactically astute stage, capitalising on some strong team work and some tepid racing to extend his lead on GC.

"I didn't think I could win today," said Sagan. "But the team did a so good work in the final! [Romain] Feillu did a very long sprint but finally I got it."

Michael Matthews (Rabobank) finished second on the stage with Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Cervélo) in third.

Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil-DCM) tried to catch the peloton by surprise with an early sprint, but fell short of pulling off the victory and crossed the line in sixth place.

"Sagan caught me very near to the line, so it's frustrating," Feillu told Cyclingnews. "I felt pretty good on the climbs although I rode the last 80km totally empty. I had stomach problems and I vomited several times.

"In the last kilometre I asked [Marco] Marcato to launch the sprint but he didn't hear me. So I decided to try to surprise Sagan and I launched from afar. I didn't know how far, it's impossible as I was focused on my sprint, the dangers, etc. It was obviously too early."

The early break formed after 23km and on the first climb of the day with Ruslan Pydgornyy (Vacansoleil-DCM), Albert Timmer (Skil – Shimano), Miguel Minguez Ayala (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Mateusz Taciak (CCC Polsat Polkowice) and Vasili Kiryienka (Movistar Team) forming at the head of the race.

However, the breakaway disintegrated in the midst of the ten climbs on the day, leaving only Pydgornyy and Kiryienka off the front together.

Kiryienka was quickly dropped and it was only Pydgornyy who managed to stay clear 100km into the stage, gaining a lead of over 8 minutes. That advantage quickly tumbled with the likes of Lampre driving at the end of the bunch.

The dynamic changed dramatically when the Italian team sent Diego Ulissi and Simon Spilak up the road in pursuit of a tiring Pydgornyy. Giampaolo Caruso (Katusha Team) was the only rider to go with them, and with just over 40km to go the foursome merged, with Pydgornyy hanging onto the back, and Sky replacing Lampre at the head of the chase.

The gap hovered around the 40 second mark, but with many riders in contention for the leader's jersey the likes of Rabobank and Movistar began to chase.

Wout Poels (Vacansoleil-DCM) then accelerated, caught and blew away the remnants of the lead group. A number of counter attacks boiled to the surface as Poels led the race over the penultimate climb of the stage, with Liquigas and Sky reacting again by pushing their men to the front.

Yet their pace wasn't enough for some, and Marek Rutkiewicz (CCC Polsat Polkowice) broke free on the descent, while Poels faded back to the bunch. Only 20 seconds down on GC, he was too big of a threat, having displayed similar tactics during last year's race, and putting Garmin under pressure.

The Pole had a shade over 10 seconds, but at the foot of the final 3rd category climb he sat up, wilting under the pressure from Liquigas's chase.

Ruben Plaza broke clear but Liquigas closed him down with the aim of keeping the pace high but manageable for Peter Sagan.

With 5km to go the bunch began to thin out with Dan Martin, Michele Scarponi, and Vincenzo Nibali all orchestrating a large group off the front of the bunch. They were quickly swallowed up. It put paid to the Liquigas riders, who were left reeling, but going over the top of the climb and the bunch still contained more than 40 riders and less than a kilometre of racing.

In the end, Sagan's powerful acceleration pulled away an elite group of sprinters, leaving defending champion Dan Martin (Garmin-Cervélo) three seconds in arrears and down to fourth on the general classification behind Sagan, Marco Marcato and Romain Feillu.

"Tomorrow is a very hard stage, with about 4,000m of altitude difference," said Sagan, who will try to defend his leader's jersey. "It will be hard but I can't miss the opportunity to win. I will do my best."

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