There were no – unpleasant – surprises on Sunday in Krakow. A complete peloton came to the finish, for a sprint, on the seventh and final stage of the Tour de Pologne. Olav Kooij claimed victory, Laurence Pithie took 16th, while Romain Grégoire secured his fourth place in the general classification. It is his first final top-5 in a WorldTour stage race, and it also a great way to launch the last part of the season.
While a bunch finish was expected to conclude the Tour de Pologne this Sunday, 1500 metres of elevation gain were still to be covered in the first half of the seventh stage. This led to a relatively hectic start to the race, during which Archie Ryan, Jack Rootkin-Gray (EF Education-EasyPost), Rémi Cavagna (Movistar) and Marcin Budzinski (Mazowsze Serce Polski) managed to break away. “It was hard,” said Yvon Caër. “A lot of riders were struggling, and we also proved a bit tired as a team. It also shows that everyone has fully committed to Romain in recent days. We may have paid a little for it today.” Therefore, when the day’s breakaway was caught in the final lap around Krakow, after a very much controlled chase by the peloton, Groupama-FDJ was unable to really get involved into the mix. “The priority was to take care of Romain in any case,” added Yvon. “We said that we would only think about the sprint in the last lap, when Romain’s positioning was secured. Laurence also confessed that he didn’t feel so great. With such a field of sprinters, Laurence not at 100% and teammates who have worked hard in recent days, we have to admit that we came up short at the end.”
“It’s very promising for the upcoming races”, Yvon Caër
Olav Kooij won the final sprint and Laurence Pithie had to settle for sixteenth place. “On the other hand, we successfully completed the mission around Romain, and the day’s goal has therefore been achieved”, added Yvon Caër. The young Frenchman, 21, therefore secured his fourth place in the general classification, won by the Dane Jonas Vingegaard. A nice reward for a very consistent week of racing. “From this Tour de Pologne, I will remember Romain’s very good performance,” concluded Yvon. “I’m still a bit frustrated with Saturday’s stage, because it suited him. He might not have won, but a stage podium was very possible. In any case, it’s his first top-5 overall in a one-week WorldTour race. He’s gradually getting through the stages and ticking the boxes one after the other. I also have the feeling that he is legitimate as a leader in this kind of race. He’s appreciated, and the boys are 100% committed to helping him the best they can. That’s very positive for the future. His current form also makes me think that it’s very promising for the upcoming races”.
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