BMC Racing Team's Tejay van Garderen was finally caught at the end of a daylong breakaway on the fifth stage of the Tour de Pologne, but the American star did not go down without a fight.
Part of a breakaway of five on a short but hilly 130-kilometre trek through South Poland from Olimp Nagawczyna to Rzeszow, Van Garderen accelerated away alone as the move disintegrated on the final narrow, steep climb of the second category Lany.
Van Garderen was in the lead over the top of the climb, 11 kilometres from the finish, and then rode steadily on the rain-soaked downhill into Rzeszow. However, Team Sky and UAE were chasing hard behind and despite such a tenacious effort, the American was finally caught three kilometres from the line.
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After catching his breath at the finish, Van Garderen said he had not been overly optimistic about his chances at the top of the climb, but he decided to battle on regardless.
"I don't know, when we started the last climb with only 45 seconds I knew it'd be tough," he told Cyclingnews. "But I figured I might as well give it a shot."
Van Garderen said that the four other riders in the move – Maxime Monfort (Lotto-Soudal), Antwan Tolhoek (LottoNL-Jumbo), Maximilian Schachmann (Quick Step Floors), who was unlucky enough to crash and then abandon, and former Tour de Pologne winner Moreno Moser (Astana Pro Team) – had all collaborated well together. Their lead hovered between 90 seconds and three minutes for much of the day, and withstood several climbs, a dogged pursuit from the peloton and some intense heat in the first part of the stage, never dropping conclusively until the final 30 kilometres.
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