Apparently Kiverlovski had a flat tire with 1.5km to go, so blame Robert. Wel at least the Polish TV got the graphics "a bit more correct". Nice try guys
If I want a hot headed commentator in last km I'd just hire either bunch of teenage kids, Brazillian football commentators or just the Norwegian guys. :L
Brilliant finish though, nail bitting, Phinney showing some class. Wouldn't be surprised if we saw same thing by him in few years at the Tour. Could well be the next thing close to Cancellera at his prime, especially as he's got the engine.
It's a shame Cancellara doesn't do this more often. He should be able to do this atleast 3-5 times every year. And I can't really think of any other time but 2007 that he did it
The Tour de Pologne leaves the domain of the sprinters and promptly heads towards the hills. Aside from BMC, the teams of the sprinters shall be feeling sore after wasting one of their two opportunities at a stage victory. Stage 6's parcours are reminiscent of a hilly classic, and should suit a number of different riders.
Stage Route
Cycling from the town of Nowy Targ to the city of Zakopane the 160.5km parcours includes six categorised climbs and several uncategorised climbs. The route incorporates a two lap circuit, at an length of 40.5km per lap, with two ascents of the Category 1 Głodówka and the Category 2 Droga Do Olczy. The stage finishes after the summit of the Droga Do Olczy atop an unmentioned rise in Zakopane.
Categorised Climbs of the Day
First to be encountered by the peloton will be the Bukowina Tatrzańska, some13.8km from the stage's beginning at Nowy Targ. The Bukowina Tatrzańska will be a punchy opener for Stage 5, at a length of 5km and an inconsistent gradient rising to as high as 11.5%. Afterwards will arrive the ascent of the Category 1 Łapszanka, at a length of 6km and a gradient that gradually rises up from an average of 3.3% up to a peak average of 7.5% near the climb's conclusion.
The riders will then climb the Bukowina Tatrzańska again, before beginning the aforementioned two lap circuit. During the two lap circuit the peloton will first ascend the Droga Do Olczy, which is another inconsistent climb at a length of 7km and a low average gradient with sections of high resistance. The Droga Do Olczy will be followed by the Głodówka, after a few intermittent hills in-between, at a length of 8km and an another climb with an inconsistent gradient, ranging up to 8.6%.
Approaching the finishing line, the peloton will descend down from the Droga Do Olczy and encounter the final climb towards the finishing line at the Flamme Rouge. Whilst hardly a monumental gradient, at an average gradient of 3.1% the ascent up to the finishing line within Zakopane will not be pleasant. Should the stage victory come down to a sprint between a selective group, the finish should suit a punchy rider with a good kick.
Stage Contenders
Predicting a victor today could be complicated with numerous riders in the mix as contenders for the stage. With the number of hills included in Stage 6's parcours it would be difficult for one or two teams to control the breakaway today. So we may see another breakaway victory if the peloton fail to co-operate to manage the gap to the breakaway.
Due to the potentially selective nature of the parcours, if ridden hard enough, the peloton may be severely whittled down by the time the finish line even nears the rider's sight. So we could see a number of attacks nearing the end of the stage should one or more of the General Classification favourites find themselves isolated. It is also worth bearing in mind that the specialist climbers in the current General Classification will be seeking to extend their time gaps ahead of the individual time trial to come.
Unless the General Classification contenders keep the race relatively intact, which could be some feat with these six-man teams. Today could be a day for the outsiders to claim the stage victory, as the General Classification contenders cautiously monitor each other. It would not be surprising to see someone similar to Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) attack from the peloton some way out from Zakopane and cycle towards another memorable victory.
Epilogue
With any number of different possibilities the stage victory is for grabs to a wide variety of cyclists. As a punchy classics kind of parcours the route should arguably suit a punchuer the most.
A day for the breakaway? A chance for an outsider to attack from the group some way out from the line? An opportunity for the General Classification contenders? Or will one of the sprinters with climbing legs somehow claim a surprise victory?
In PCM, this stage can be as brutal as the Tirreno one, with no group bigger than 15 riders at the finish.
Though that's probably because it's way too easy to break the peloton over those sharp hills.
Still, if ridden hard, it can shake up the GC quite a bit.
Riblon is confident about his chances to win TdP considering there are no TT specialists in the top 11 and he should be able to keep up his TdF form. He claims Majka, Henao and Kiserlovski to be his main contenders.
Shame Atapuma couldn't stay in the breakaway, as that could have been interesting. So instead we have Colombia-Coldeportes leading the peloton and controlling the breakaway, with roughly 45km to go and a 2'00" time gap.
Edit #1: Poland just tried to top the Orica-GreenEDGE bus incident with their own VIP car incident. Still not enough to take the title Poland Edited by Malkael on 01-08-2013 16:53
Christophe Riblon (AG2R) going for it from long! Joined by about four or five others in a new breakaway which formed on the descent. No idea of the time gap at the moment, but we are under 13.5km to go!
The breakaway is reportedly Paterski, Chernetski, Kiserlovski, L.L Sanchez, Riblon and Atapuma. A dangerous move both in the General Classification and for the stage win with such quality in the new breakaway.
Edit #1: Break at 7km to go has just 16", with Wiggins on front for Team Sky.
Edited by Malkael on 01-08-2013 17:34
