The Welshman remained out of competition for a long time, recovering from a hard spring of work and then training towards the Vuelta. Alongside several teammates he's spent a few weeks training in altitude in Andorra, and has now came down to Pologne as his main preparation race. He teams up with Pavel Sivakov, Thymen Arensman and Laurens de Plus who were his key domestiques at the Giro and may have the same role in Spain.
“In the Vuelta we will see what happens. I am now here at the start of the Tour de Pologne to work on the intensity of the race and to prepare myself as optimally as possible for the Vuelta. I have also been on altitude training in recent weeks," he concludes. This afternoon's stage features a difficult summit finish where
INEOS Grenadiers will have a good idea of where their climbers stand.