A week is a lifetime in politics, as the saying goes, and for professional cyclist Dylan Teuns, seven days is all it has taken to see a massive upturn in his career, with four victories in that period crowned with a win on Monday in the Tour de Pologne.
A third year professional with the BMC Racing Team, Teuns' first win of his career arrived last week on home soil, in the Ardennes town of Houffalize in Belgium's Tour de Wallonie. Already in the lead of the race, that victory in some of Belgium's hilliest territory was followed by both a repeat stage win two days later, as well as the top spot in the overall classification.
Much more was to come in the Tour de Pologne's stage 3 summit finish above the hill town of Szczyrk on Monday, at the top of a wooded, narrow and steep 1.5-kilometre ascent. A lanky climber, Teuns powered out of the shattered peloton behind Adam Yates (Orica-Scott) to claim his fourth victory in a week, his first in the WorldTour and a valuable second place, too, on the overall classification. He also had the strength to fend off a challenger as formidable as an in-form Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), something few riders are capable of doing.
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"This has been an amazing week already, four wins in seven days," Teuns said before reeling off the list of his victories to a huddled mass of Polish reporters.
After Wallonie, the BMC Racing Team had gambled on Teuns making an impact on the final climb on this stage, with teammate Rohan Dennis doing a lot of hard work to bring back late attacker Jack Haig (Orica-Scott). But when Yates made his move on the final ascent, it had to be an out-and-out climber like Teuns – third in Fleche Wallonne this spring, on a far steeper final ascent – who shot after the Briton
"We didn't take responsibility early on, but the team worked really hard in the final part to get the victory, that was the plan," Teuns recounted. "They did a really good job to bring me in the perfect position."
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