"I have to rely on my explosiveness" - Thibau Nys wins once again at Tour de Pologne

The Tour de Pologne has had two road stages thus far and they have ended with the same winner. Thibau Nys is an extraordinary puncheur and has succeeded in Poland today once again in the sharp uphill finish.

“I was more worried about getting to the final than about the final itself. I knew that if they were going to push on the climbs, it would be a difficult day," Nys said in a post-race interview. The Lidl-Trek climber suffers in the longer efforts, however the attacks on the penultimate climb of the day were not hard enough to really explode the peloton. He was able to survive until the final climb, and there he did what he does best. "Luckily, I had really good legs today and I was able to keep up with a teammate. I would like to thank my team for putting me in such a good position in the final. This is a victory for them.”

With the help of unusual domestique Mads Pedersen, Nys entered the final hilltop right in front. With gradients of over 15% and a very narrow road, positioning became a difficulty for a few riders. Diego Ulissi launched an early sprint trying to take advantage of the many corners in the final meters and the tactic almost worked to perfection, but the Italian saw Nys pack the raw watts in the final meters to make the overtake and take the stage win.

“I just had to wait as long as possible. Compared to the rest of the top riders, I have to rely on my explosiveness," Nys admits. "Because the longer the effort, the less chance I have of winning. In the last 100 metres, I gave everything I had.” Perhaps other days would be too hard for him but the Belgian thrived today once again, and climbs to the top step of the podium already for the second time.