Mathys Rondel retains the leader’s jersey in the general classification.
18th May 2024 – After surprising his escape companions with less than 5km to go, Danish rider Peter Hansen sprinted solo towards the finish in Jasło, followed by Italian rider Filippo D’Aiuto in second place. Matthew Brennan was third again.
Peter Hansen – stage winner – reports: “I wanted to be in the breakaway today because it was the best opportunity for me to try and win, so yes. It was really fast at the beginning. We were able to keep a good gap and at one point I was talking to the coach in the car and he said that with about 8km to go it was a good time to attack. I waited a bit longer but then I went and now I cannot describe how happy I am. Tomorrow we’ll probably work for the GC, we’ll see.”
Mathys Rondel – GC Leader – says: “It was calmer today, but it was another tough stage with 8 guys in the lead. There were no real threats to the GC, but still. We did a very good job controlling the race with my team and we all finished together, it was a very good day for us with a 1st and 2nd in the general classification, so it’s perfect. Tomorrow there are some good climbs, not super tough but it’ll definitely suit the climbers. The idea is to keep the jersey so I’ll try to ride accordingly, we’ll see what happens but I’ll certainly do everything I can to defend it. “
It was 12:05pm when the start was given for the fourth stage – the first on Polish soil – of the ORLEN Nations Grand Prix. This time it was Austria, closely followed by Mostostal Puławy and Chrobry Głogów, who opened the dances by attacking immediately after the start in BUKOVINA Resort, Niedzica, with the aim of creating a breakaway. The attempt failed as the peloton caught up and maintained the pace. After a series of attacks, Aviv Bental (Israel), Louis Leidert (Germany), Filippo D’Aiuto (Italy), Julian Kot (Poland), Nils Aebersold (Switzerland), Peter Hansen (Denmark) and Edvin Lovidius (Sweden) took the lead and immediately gained 30 seconds on the peloton. Shortly before the first KOM, which was won by Julian Kot (Poland), Austrian rider Philipp Hofbauer set off alone in pursuit of the escapees.
The breakaway, now made up of eight riders, remained compact and built up a lead of 2′ 30″ on the peloton. Around the 50th kilometre of the race, France and Great Britain took the lead and reduced the gap, while Julian Kot and Nils Aebersold attacked ahead of the second KOM of the day in Popardowa Niżna. Once again it was the Polish rider who took the KOM points. The pace remained very fast, the cooperation within the breakaway allowed them to keep a sufficient distance despite the pressure of the British chase. With 10km to go, 35 seconds separated the escapees from the peloton and it was time for a short climb. Louis Leidert tried an attack but was caught by his escape companions. With 5km to go, it was Hansen who made his move, opening up a good gap. Filippo D’Aiuto counter-attacked, but it was too late to catch the Dane, who crossed the line in Jaslo at an average speed of 43.439km/h over the 174km race.
Mathys Rondel (FRA) continues to lead the general classification, followed by Brieuc Rolland (FRA) +14 and Matthew Brennan +16.
Pietro Mattio (ITA) retains the best climber jersey with 20 points, while Belgium lead the best team classification ahead of France and Italy.
Tomorrow, 123 riders will set off from Lesko for the final stage of the ORLEN Nations Grand Prix – the first race of the UCI U23 Nations Cup. The 148km final stage through the Carpathian Mountains will decide the winner of the sixth edition of the race.