From the 4th to 10th of August the World Tour calendar continues with it's first post-Tour de France stage-race: the Tour de Pologne. This week-long race in Poland is always packed with opportunities for the sprinters, classics riders and time-trialists. We preview stage 2.
The second stage of the race will already be an important one for the overall classification as the riders go into the hills, starting and finishing off the day in Karpacz. A regular finale, however a shorter summit finish this time around, less well suited to the climbers.
Right at the start of the day there is some climbing, and then all over the stage there will be a few ascents scattered around. However all of the attention will be in the arrival which is a climb consisting of two sections. The first leads up to an intermediate sprint where the peloton finds a few kilometers at around 5%.
There is a small downhill section and then the final 3 kilometers average at 6.7%. It's not an ascent that is difficult enough to create serious differences and a sprint finish is likely, but there will be gaps and bonifications at play and of course, a first GC leader out of those who are fighting for the overall classification.
Stage 2: Karpacz - Karpacz, 148.3 kilometers
Although short, this will be an important stage for the overall classification as we will discover who the men with the best form are. But it's not a stage for big differences, we should have a sprint between those who survive the climbing to decide the stage and in Jan Christen and Maxim van Gils we will have the two main favourites.
Prediction Tour de Pologne 2025 stage 2:
*** Jan Christen, Maxim van Gils
** Mathias Vacek, Diego Ulissi, Max Poole
* Matthew Brennan, Brandon McNulty, Finn Fisher-Black, Edoardo Zambanini, Andrea Bagioli, Antonio Tiberi, Michal Kwiatkowski, Pello Bilbao
** Mathias Vacek, Diego Ulissi, Max Poole
* Matthew Brennan, Brandon McNulty, Finn Fisher-Black, Edoardo Zambanini, Andrea Bagioli, Antonio Tiberi, Michal Kwiatkowski, Pello Bilbao
Pick: Jan Christen
How: Reduced group sprint.
Original: Rúben Silva
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
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.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
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)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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