Tour de Pologne (st. 2)

Balearic rider takes on sprinter duties for the first time since joining the Movistar Team, leads double top-ten performance as Roelandts takes 10th. Edu leaves hospital in Poland, will undergo new checkups in Pamplona.

/ Update: Edu Prades

Following the checkups he underwent on Wednesday evening, which confirmed a stable, non-displaced fracture to his cervical vertebra C7 (and not C6, as erroneously reported earlier today), Edu Prades will fly back to the Movistar Team’s home city Pamplona on Friday to complete another batch of radiological tests in the upcoming days at the Clínica San Miguel. The goal is to confirm the diagnosis received yesterday and determine the recovery routine the Alcanar native should follow.

Prades, already back at the Movistar Team hotel after being discharged, is wearing since Wednesday a neck brace that allows him moving freely, yet the advice from the Telefónica-backed squad’s doctors has been to take as much rest as possible to improve his recovery and avoid any unnecesary pain.

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/ Today’s route

Stage two of the Tour de Pologne was quite similar to the eve’s, with a 151km route on mainly flat roads and only one categorized climb, Góra Świętej Anny, halfway through. The fast finishing circuit in Zabrze was again completed with a slight downhill at the last straight.

/ Weather report

A typical summer day in southern Poland, with 24ºC, mostly sunny skies and eastern winds that were no threat to the peloton’s safety.

/ Keys to the race

• The peloton departed from Opole without either Edu Prades and the two riders at the top of the standings, Fabio Jakobsen (DQT) and Marc Sarreau (GFC). The world of cycling was a wave of support to the Dutch champion from last night, as well as to all riders affected by a horrible crash that took our sport to a standstill.
• Local rider Kamil Małecki (CCC), part of the early break on stage one, inherited the yellow jersey for day two, when Van den Berg (EF1) and Paterski (POL) again went on the move from the bang. A six-minute maximum gap was steadily reduced by Deceuninck and Bora, leading early, plus Israel and Lotto, who completed the chase inside the final circuit, 16km before the end.
• At the finish, Albert Torres featured notably in his first attempt to do a sprint in Movistar Team colours, taking 6th place while Jürgen Roelandts was 10th. World road race champion Mads Pedersen (TFS) notched up the day’s victory and the provisional race lead.

/ Upcoming goals

Friday will bring the most difficult route in the race so far, a prelude to Saturday’s Queen stage in the Tatr mountains. The 203km journey from Wadovice to Bielsko-Biała will include seven categorized hills, and the final circuit, always up and down, will test the resilience of the top sprinters.

Cover picture (c): BettiniPhoto