Tour de Pologne (st. 4)

Ecuadorian from Movistar Team -led out by Bico, well covered by courageous Carretero & Arcas- shows good legs in maiden mountain stage in Pologne. Kwiatkowski (SKY) becomes new race leader.

Richard Carapaz and Movistar Team went on the offensive during stage four of the 2018 Tour de Pologne (178km), the first mountain stage with four categorized climbs and a brutal finish up the Szczyrk hill, with ramps up to 17% gradient.

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‘Richie’ extended an overall good performance from the Blue team, present in all moves during the final 40km. Héctor Carretero was first to try into a counter move alongside Sander Armée (LTS), seeking for the early break. Once he was caught, Jorge Arcas tried another another attack into the third Cat-1 ascent, together with Georg Preidler (GFC), Ivan Rovny (GAZ) and Patrick Konrad (BOH). The move was reeled in with just 12km to go.

As Pedrero and Sepúlveda resisted against the pace by the GC contenders, Nuno Bico led out Carapaz brilliantly so the Carchí native could play his cards from the foot of the climb. Carapaz built a nice gap which was, unfortunately, too short as the final push from the favourites took the better of him with 200 meters to go. ‘Richie’ finished 19″ behind the day’s winner and new race leader, Michal Kwiatkowski (SKY), in the first mountainous day of a race which will continue to seek for lumpy roads on Wednesday’s stage five -Wieliczka to Bielsko-Biala, 152km in length-.