2022 Tour de Pologne – Stage 2 Preview

By @EchelonsHub

The opening stage of the Tour de Pologne was a calm day with a tense finale. A crash close to the end saw many riders down, however did not prevent a bunch sprint from occuring. Jumbo-Visma did a strong leadout, and put Olav Kooij in a position to win the first stage, beating Phil Bauhaus and Jordi Meeus to the line. 

Positive: Kooij taking another high-level win. 

Negative: Démare and Cavendish distant from the win. Although some time gaps may be nullified, Sergio Higuita, Tobias Johannessen, Stephen Williams and Sam Oomen crashed and lost time ont he road. 

The Route

The second stage of the Tour de Pologne will be another for the sprinters, however a more simple day indicated for a regular bunch sprint which shouldn’t see too many difficulties and will see the fastest men have no issue to battle between each other. 

It will be another long day, as is traditional in the Polish race, with over 200 kilometers on the road. The finale will be in Zamosc which will see the fast men come to the front. 

The final circuit will be ridden twice, giving the riders the opportunity to go through the finish and take notes. There will be no gradients to take note, and no major technical features. A small roundabout with around 500 meters to go will make for a small fight for positioning, however it should be a standard bunch sprint. 

The Weather

A small breeze from the southwest. Cross and headwind throughout the day, however it turns into a tailwind towards the end of the day. Nevertheless, it shouldn’t be hard enough to create tension. 

Breakaway chances: 5%

Although the wind could be favourable for an escapee group, the profile is too flat and there are too many teams with interests in a sprint. 

The Favourites

Olav Kooij – Jumbo have done a perfect job today and Kooij has shown the speed. The goal has been accomplished, however they have shown to be capable of winning in this field and should try to hit it again. 

Phil Bauhaus – Bahrain are not a team that frequently has good support for Bauhaus, however today he found himself in the best position he could and very close to the win. If he can repeat the positioning aspect, he will remain a big favourite to win. 

Arnaud Démare and Mark Cavendish finished inside the Top10 today but didn’t manage to play a role in the fight for the stage win, with Sam Bennett in the same position. On paper the best three sprinters in the race, but a sprint is much more than just max speed. Jordi Meeus has finished third today and is probably a more reliable option for BORA – hansgrohe aswell. 

Juan Sebastian Molano, Kaden Groves and Max Kanter have also finished high today and will be options for tomorrow. Pascal Ackermann will be a second option for UAE. INEOS will have Ethan Hayter and Elia Viviani, and then there will be Jakub Mareczko, Simone Consonni, Matteo Moschetti, Stanislaw Aniolkowski, Gerben Thijssen and Sam Welsford who should be in the fight aswell.

Inside The Bus

This morning I talk to…

#211 Jonas Abrahamsen – You were in the break and took six seconds, so I urge you to try and once again make your way into the front of the race and seek that leader’s jersey, it would be an absolute achievement at this time. 

#111 Mick van Dijke – We’ve done the work properly on the opening stage so it’s a matter of repeating it. Tosh and Mike will have the most important leadout role, however your job is to stay with them well positioned until as late as possible, ideally until around 1.5Km to go. 

#142 Jasper de Buyst – Stage one didn’t work well, but let’s try it again. Roger is here and he will help you stay near the front, maybe there’ll be better stages for you but let’s try and finish high on the day. 

Prediction Time

⭐⭐⭐Kooij, Démare

⭐⭐Cavendish, Bauhaus, Meeus

⭐S.Bennett, Groves, Mareczko, Viviani, Hayter, Kanter, Molano, Ackermann, Welsford

Yesterday’s guess was correct and in very exact circumstances. Kooij is the most consistent sprinter here and one of the best, Jumbo-Visma have done a perfect job today and honestly, I think a second consecutive win is very much possible. 

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Rúben Silva

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