Jordi Meeus takes opportunity to finish third on Sam Bennett's absence - "Our plan didn't quite work out"

BORA - hansgrohe had two cards to play yesterday in Lublin on the opening day of the Tour de Pologne, but Jordi Meeus was the rider who battled for the top result as Sam Bennett once again struggled to be in contention.

"It was actually a pretty quiet day until the last 25km," the Belgian fast man described. "Our goal was to set up the sprint for Sam, but unfortunately our plan didn't quite work out. He lost my rear wheel in the finale, which is a shame because we had done a good job until that time."

Having no-one to leadout, Meeus ended up in a strong place to fight for the stage win, and in the final sprint he had the speed to finish on the day's podium, only behind Olav Kooij and Phil Bauhaus. "I then tried to go for the sprint myself and ended up third. I think we can definitely do better, yet it's a solid start," he described.

After finishing second in the Belgium national championships this comes as another close call at a successful result, Meeus who has finished second to Wout van Aert on a stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné earlier this year. Today he will have another opportunity for success, although it can't be assured that he'll be the card for BORA - hansgrohe.