Tour de Pologne (st. 3)

Hodeg (QST) claims sprint win and GC lead as Carapaz, Blues stay away from trouble before first uphill finish - Szczyrk's brutal kick - on Tuesday.

Colombian youngster Álvaro Hodeg (BOH) stormed to the day’s honours and took over the lead in the Tour de Pologne, which tackled yet another short (138km), calm stage en route to Zabrze on Monday, following a scenic départ from the Slaski Stadion in Chorzów in the early afternoon.

The Movistar Team had no troubles as Richard Carapaz and all seven Blues finished inside the main bunch. The Ecuadorian and his team-mates remain equal with all other GC contenders, 22″ behind the yellow jersey, before the four mid-mountain stages set to define the week’s outcome.

Stage four on Tuesday will be a 178km trek from Jaworzno to Szczyrk, with a second half full of ascents. Two climbs to Salmopolska (Cat-1) and as many to Zameczek (Cat-1) will preceed the brutal finish, 1km at 11% average with maximum slopes of 15 and even 17%.

Picture (c): BettiniPhoto.net / ATCommunication