Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) timed his acceleration perfectly to the front of a bunch sprint and won stage 4 of the Tour de Pologne. Like a coiled spring, the Danish rider won a stage in Poland for a third consecutive year.
The final 800 metres punched up a 3.7% hill and then deposited the sprinters through a left-hand curve for the final 500 metres. It was on the swooping bend that the Trek-Lidl rider surged from the pack, only to serve as a lead-out for Kooij.
"I was really happy to win here today and the team did a really good job to get me there," said Kooij. “After several hard stages, we knew there was a chance for me today. It was a nervous final, but I was perfectly placed going into the final kilometer. I'm happy I could finish it off for the team today.”
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) retained the overall lead finishing safely in the peloton with the same time as his victorious teammate. Visma kept their team leader out of danger when two crashes took down a dozen riders in the final 27km.
There were no changes to the top GC top five, Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) trailing Vingegaard by 19 seconds and Visma’s Wilco Kelderman another second back in third. Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) continued in fourth and Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) in fifth, the two 33 and 37 seconds, respectively, back.
With bonus seconds from intermediate sprints, Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Victorious) moved past his teammate Edoardo Zambanini into sixth overall.
Stage Details
The longest stage of this year’s Tour de Pologne featured just classified climb, a category 2 at Przełęcz Jaworowa (7.2km at 4.2%)., with three opportunities for sprint points along the 195.3km route and bonus points at the finish in Prudnik.
One rider not taking the start in Kudowa-Zdrój was Max Schachmann (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), the team noting he was suffering from an upper respiratory infection.
The Early Breakaway
The first flat stage after three days in the mountains did serve up some climbing across the first 80km. Across the Jawarowa Pass, Michał Paluta (Poland) took top points from a two-rider breakaway with Szymon Sajnok (Q36.5 Pro Cycling).
A Team Poland duo of Kacper Gieryk and Norbert Banaszek then attacked from the peloton, about 2 minutes back, for the chase. As they made the catch, Paluta dropped back, with 100km to go and the KOM points out of the way.
The Final Stage
Bahrain Victorious pulled in the peloton while Gierkyk was the final rider to remain out front, 1:21 to his advantage with 70km to go.
The gap hovered at the one-minute mark across the next 20km, and he appeared to ease the pace, as Bahrain led the peloton with interest in the bonus points on offer at Otmuchów, 2 points going to Matej Mohorič.
With under 50km to go Gieryk faded back into the peloton as the WorldTour squads still hunting for a victory, Bahrain, Ineos Grenadiers and Team dsm-firmenich PostNL, gathered at the front next to Lidl-Trek.
It was steady and relaxed until 27km to go and five riders crashed on the side of the road, including Clément Davy (Groupama-FDJ) and climber Paluta. The final rider to pick himself and continue appeared to be Cameron Wurf (Ineos Grenadiers).
Then less than 7km later, more riders went down on both sides of the road, as a lone Arkéa-Samsic rider avoided the pileup navigating well off the pavement through a grassy ditch on the left side.
Several Alpecin-Deceuninck and Polish National Team riders were slow to get up, and the peloton pushed on with Soudal-QuickStep, Intermarché-Wanty, Lidl-Trek, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale and Visma-Lease a Bike filling the width of the road with 20km to race.
Vingegaard was caught behind the crash but his Visma teammates brought him back into the peloton, as the still-steady pace did not change.
The ignition button for the stage wasn’t hit until 3km to go as the sprint teams positioned for the final uphill. Cofids went first after the 1km kite, then Lidl-Trek launched Mads Pedersen but it was Kooij who took charge at the end.
The Sprint
Mads Pedersen (Trek-Lidl) launched his move too early with less than 300 metres to go and was passed near the line by Kooij and second-placed Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale). Pedersen settled for third.
Kooij's Winning Streak
This win marks Kooij's third consecutive stage victory in the Tour de Pologne, cementing his place as a force to be reckoned with in the sprint stage. His powerful finish, combined with his tactical awareness, is a testament to his growing prowess as a cyclist.
Looking Ahead
The Tour de Pologne continues with Stage 5, which promises another exciting day of racing. With the sprinters and GC contenders eager to make their mark, fans can expect a thrilling battle for the stage victory and the overall lead.
