August 3, 2026
For the first time in a few years, the Tour de Pologne visits the North with the first stage starting along the Baltic Sea in Gdynia. A mammoth 234 kilometers awaits the riders after sign-on as the course will take them due West through low agricultural lands of the Pomerania and West Pomerania provinces. The day is quite flat and will test the endurance in what will be over 6 hours on the bike. To break up the monotony, there are six intermediate sprints along the way, three of which contain 3, 2, and 1 bonus seconds, and a wrinkle thrown in for the sprinters. With just 9 km to go, the peloton will have to negotiate a 1.5 km rise at 4%. Normally this would be nothing to even mention but after such a long day and with it situated so close to the finish, the climb could entice a few to launch attacks to distance the fast men before they arrive in Koszalin.
Highlighted Riders
Sprinters: Juan Sebastián Molano, Gerben Thijssen, Edoardo Zambanini, Tord Gudmestad, Noah Hobbs, Marijn van den Berg, Paul Penhoët, Jonathan Milan, Sam Welsford, Oded Kogut, Jordi Meeus, Paul Magnier, Steffen De Schuyteneer, Matteo Malucelli, Matteo Moschetti
GC Contenders: Jan Christen, João Almeida, Santiago Buitrago, Paul Lapeira, Neilson Powless, Adrien Boichis, Steff Cras, Louis Barré, Andreas Leknessund, Christian Scaroni, Marco Brenner
Race Summary
After a 10 km trudge through the neutral, the riders were let off the leash at KM0. It took 5 km before a group of five broke clear but not everyone was happy. Pinarello Q36.5 shot a rider across to make six and the peloton called for a truce and shut down. The six riders up front were Rudy Molard of Groupama-FDJ United, Patrick Gamper of Jayco AlUla, Bart Lemmen of Visma-Lease a Bike, Simon Dalby of Uno-X Mobility, Kamil Małecki of Pinarello Q36.5, and Radosław Frątczak of the Polish National Team. When the gap reached 2 minutes 20 seconds, Lidl-Trek started to ride with Soudal Quickstep and Netcompany-Ineos was queued up behind.
Ayco Bastiaens of T-Rex Quickstep and Jacopo Mosca of Lidl-Trek went to work and had the break at 2 minutes on the approach to the first bonus sprint in Kartuzy. Małecki was first to jump but it was a long way and the winner was Frątczak who was patient and timed his effort just right. The bunch continued along in beautiful riding conditions with a cool breeze off the Baltic keeping the temperature around 20C (68F) and clear blue skies, a nice contrast from the brutal heat that many races have been afflicted by in recent months.
Passed the blue waters of the Jezioro Mausz with holiday makers enjoying some free time, the break prepared itself for a cash prime at the intermediate sprint in Parchowo. Małecki rolled through uncontested to put a little cash in his pocket and the race settled back into a cat and mouse match with the gap hovering around 1 minute 45 seconds. About 5 km from the second bonus sprint, Lemmen attacked the group to give himself a chance at the bonus seconds. He was brought quickly back and received a few words from others for his aggression. Lemmen sat on the back and left a sprinters gap coming into 1 km from the sprint in Bytów but it was Gamper who tried to go long. He went on the opposite side of a traffic island but was brought back just as the others opened the sprint on a small uphill drag. Frątczak looked like he might take the bonuses again but he turned his head to the right and stopped pedaling before he reached the line and Małecki came through on the left to pip his compatriot. Molard backed out of the break at this point with nothing to show after three sprints which left five in the break.
The gap was kept so tight that the leaders decided to back off. The gap went right down to 1 minute with 112 km to go and Lotto Intermarché made the call to test the waters in the peloton by accelerating. There was no separation and they called off the charge but it was a direct result of the narrow gap. The leaders continued to plow on at a moderate effort through forests, fields, and curving roads that were beautiful for racing.
Over the next 65 km, the gap continued to go down and with 62 km remaining, only 30 seconds separated the two groups. The leaders decided it was now or never and they picked up their pace. With 50 km to go, they extended the lead out to 1 minute 40 seconds and new riders appeared for Lidl-Trek and T-Rex Quickstep. In the final bonus sprint at 45 km to go in Polanów, Frątczak looked to be tiring and he was not able to contest the sprint won by Małecki. With almost 190 km in the legs, everyone was feeling the effort of having pushed the pace to 45 km/hr for hour after hour.
For the first time all race with just 30 km remaining, a team other than Lidl-Trek and T-Rex Quickstep put a rider in the chase. EF-Education EasyPost threw their hat in the ring as possible stage favorites but Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe were still conspicuously missing. 10 km later, the front of the peloton was blocked with teams moving forward to take part in the action and position for the climb. The catch was made with 15.5 km remaining and even with the climb just ahead, the pace slowed in the bunch. With 11 km to go, Dries De Bondt of Jayco AlUla jumped out of the peloton and had 10 seconds by the top as he passed the many inflatable balloons that have become common place throughout the years at the Tour de Pologne.
De Bondt snagged the KOM points at the top and was promptly hauled back as the lead out trains went into full flight with just 5 km to go. A few tight turns with traffic furniture scrambled the trains but they reorganized coming into 2 km to go with Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe, T-Rex Quickstep, and Decathlon CMA CGM charging forward. The road was quite wide coming into 1 km to go which meant no team was able to hold their position for very long. EF-Education EasyPost emerged through the melee and took the final corner at 550 meters in first position as Marijn van den Berg led through with Simone Consonni of Lidl-Trek, Matteo Malucelli of XDS-Astana, and Noah Hobbs of EF-Education EasyPost in fourth wheel. Consonni took over inside 300 meters but he was looking backwards to find Jonathan Milan who moving up on his own. Malucelli opened the sprint moments later with Hobbs then Milan and Jordi Meeus of Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe in a line behind and Paul Mangier of T-Rex Quickstep alone and pushing the wind on the other side of the road. When Milan kicked, he was quickly passed Hobbs and Malucelli and stormed to the line in his powerful bobbing style to take the victory. Magnier managed to come around and get himself in Milan's slipstream but his run was too late and only good enough for second with Hobbs just holding on for third place.