Rafal Majka takes victory on stage 3 of the Tour de Pologne to the delight of the Polish crowd

Rafal Majka has taken victory on stage 3 of the 2023 Tour de Pologne, making a late acceleration to nudge ahead of his rivals and secure the win.

Stage 3 of the Tour de Pologne, another day for the overall classification with a hilltop finish with time differences likely. A punchy start and two categorized climbs can see a strong breakaway going up the road, however simultaneously it is very early in the race to see meaningful groups having the freedom to be formed.

Four riders initially formed a breakaway on the early slopes, Bastien Tronchon (AG2R Citroën Team), Mick van Dijke (Jumbo-Visma), Jacopo Mosca (Lidl-Trek) and Andreas Kron (Lotto Dstny) getting up the road. 

Polish rider Piotr Brożyna looked to try and join them, although the 28-year-old couldn't quite bridge the gap, getting stuck in no man's land between peloton and break before eventually being caught by the bunch.

As the race began climbing the final categorised climb of the day, the breakaway began to be reeled in. Kron was the last man standing but with 19km to go, he too was swallowed up by the peloton.

With a final, brutal kick-up to the line in the final kilometre and a half, INEOS Grenadiers were battling to hold the front of the peloton, Pavel Sivakov setting the pace.

It was Rafal Majka though that would take the stage win, the UAE Team Emirates climber accelerating to victory at his home race ahead of Matej Mohoric and Michal Kwiatkowski.