"After the crash, I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to continue" - Bloodied Bart Lemmen takes first pro win in Pologne
CyclingThursday, 06 August 2026 at 20:23
Bart Lemmen won the fourth stage of the Tour de Pologne, and did so under incredible circumstances. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider was part of the mass crash that neutralized the race, but followed that up with one of the best performances of his career where he was able to fly into his first pro win.
Difficult crash doesn't hamper Lemmen
“It was an incredible feeling when I crossed the finish line,” Lemmen said in a press release issued by the team. Only an hour prior, the Dutchman had crashed alongside plenty UAE Team Emirates - XRG riders and his teammate Wilco Kelderman. Continuing in the race was certainly not assured, carrying cuts and blood from his fall.
“After the crash, I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to continue. When I got back on the bike, I felt pain everywhere. At that point, the adrenaline took over and I decided to keep going," he explains.
Team Visma | Lease a Bike had several climbers and a plan. With the longer effort on the approach to Karpacz, it was a finale that suited the climbers better. They had the chance to make the difference, and that is what Visma did. Tijmen Graat was the first to attack, and then helped extend the lead of a small group after Lemmen had joined it.
Lemmen himself, a specialist on this type of effort, made the difference to his group companions still on the climb. "After the restart, the peloton was riding a little more cautiously, and I took advantage of that to attack. I took the risk of going on the offensive myself, and it worked out well. After so many attempts to win, I finally managed to do it.”
Lemmen's choice was the right one, as he was being chased on by Christian Scaroni. But because of the gap he had over the Italian, he managed to hold him off on the explosive hilltop finish, where Scaroni had the upper hand that time around.
Bart Lemmen won stage 4 of the Tour de Pologne
Read also
First pro win for Bart Lemmen
At age 30, the three-time Grand Tour participant who only arrived at the World Tour with 28 years of age has scored his first pro win. Not just any win, but a summit finish victory on the World-Tour ranked Tour de Pologne, which also leaves him in the yellow jersey and with the chance to achieve more in the coming days.
“I had been waiting a long time for my first victory, and today it finally came. It’s special to win in the WorldTour and immediately take the leader’s jersey as well. I still can’t believe it," he concluded.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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