Ben Turner takes first WorldTour win on stage 3 of 2025 Tour de Pologne; Time-gaps neutralised after crash involving Lapeira, Majka & Vacek
Cycling
In a somewhat strange finale to stage 3 of the 2025 Tour de Pologne, Ben Turner has taken victory. The reason for the strange feeling? The fact that the last 15km had been raced without any GC ramifications following a neutralisation of the race for around 10 minutes after a nasty crash involving Yellow Jersey Paul Lapeira and Polish national champion Rafal Majka among others.
After 10 riders had initially gone clear to form the breakaway, by the time the leaders entered the final 55km, just 7 remained out ahead. Among the notable names on the attack were the likes of Timo Kielich (Alpecin-Deceuninck). Anthony Perez (Cofidis), Remi Cavagne (Groupama - FDJ) and Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal - Quick-Step).
As the rolling parcours and the intense pace of the racing continued to take effect, by the time the Rzeczka summited inside 45km to go, just 3 riders remained in a breakaway, with Kielich, Reinderink and Kelland O'Brien still around 1:50 clear of the peloton. With Kielich dropping away soon after, it was only O'Brien and Reinderink that entered the last 35km ahead of the bunch.
With 25km to go and the peloton closing in, O'Brien then attempted to go solo at the front. At the front of the peloton meanwhile, a nasty crash on one of the descents saw the likes of GC leader Paul Lapeira, Czech national champion Mathias Vacek, and Polish national champion Rafal Majka crash into a ditch at the roadside.
Despite Diego Ulissi and Lorenzo Milesi attacking to join O'Brien up ahead, following the crash, the race was neutralised momentarily by the race jury. After some confusion and a wait of around 10 minutes, the stage did eventually restart for the final 15km, although with any potential GC time gaps neutralised.
The trio of O'Brien, Ulissi and Milesi were given a 40 second advantage over the peloton at the restart. Notably absent from the bunch though, was the Yellow Jersey of Lapeira.
At the front, there was still a stage win up for grabs despite the GC neutralisation. Into the final 2km at the three leaders till held an advantage of around 10-12 seconds. Just as they passed through the flamme rouge however, the break were tagged by a counter-attacking move from the front of the bunch.
As things regrouped then ahead of the finish, the INEOS Grenadiers took control of the leadout and when Ben Turner took off, no one could catch the Brit.
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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