SZCZYRK, Poland (AFP) — BMC’s Dylan Teuns won Monday’s hilly stage 3 of the Tour of Poland ahead of Peter Sagan and his Bora-Hansgrohe teammate, local rider Rafal Majka.
The result puts Sagan back in the overall lead six seconds ahead of Teuns and 12 seconds ahead of Majka. Overnight leader Danny van Poppel (Sky), a sprinter, dropped out of the top 10.
“Stage 3 of the Tour de Pologne was a tough one! I managed to stay in a good position in the first four climbs and I gave my all in the steep and hard final climb,” Sagan said. “It feels good to be back in yellow. As I said yesterday, my form is very good.”
Belgian rider Teuns launched a sudden attack on the final climb to a summit finish at Szczyrk, but world road race champion Sagan dug deep to limit the damage and retake the yellow jersey.
Teuns recently won Tour de Wallonie, a five-stage race in Belgium.
“We are very happy with our performance and result today,” said Majka. “It was a tough final climb but together with Peter we were in the final group, and were well positioned. Unfortunately, I accelerated a bit late in order to take the win. It was the first time I was riding here and I didn’t know the climb very well.”
The 161km stage featured four climbs, but there are more challenging mountain stages to come on the eight-day Tour.
Stage 3, top five
1. Dylan Teuns (BEL/BMC) in 3hrs 51min 41sec
2. Peter Sagan (SVK/BOH), s.t.
3. Rafal Majka (POL/BOH), s.t.
4. Wilco Kelderman (NED/SUN) s.t.
5. Tom-Jelte Slagter (NED/CPT) at 5sec.
Top-five overall
1. Peter Sagan (SVK/BOH) in 10hrs 03min 02sec
2. Dylan Teuns (BEL/BMC) at 6sec
3. Rafal Majka (POL/BOH) at 12
4. Wilco Kelderman (NED/SUN) at 16
5. Tom-Jelte Slagter (NED/CPT) at 21.
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