"The goal is to win" - Mathias Vacek doesn't settle for just a second place at Tour de Pologne

After a calm sprint on the first day of Tour de Pologne, the next stage with uphill arrival in Karpacz promised to shake up the standings. Lidl-Trek's Mathias Vacek entered the stage as one of favourites and the Czech champion didn't fail to deliver. With a second place on the day, the 23-year-old moved up to second in GC too. As a strong timetrialist, there is a good chance to win the race overall if the young rider can keep up until the last stage.

"It was a fast stage, quite short and I knew the biggest selection would be on the last climb with a lot of storng climbers here," Vacek looks back on the second stage of Tour de Pologne in a press release.

"I was focused on the final, and with the help of the team I had a really good position and didn’t have to use much energy before. I felt really good in the last climb and had the wheel of Christen, who went quite early and exploded a bit. We slowed down and Lapeira came from the back and he had an extra punch that we couldn’t follow."

"I still had a bit of energy in the legs and tried my best to catch him, but he was stronger today and I took second. It was a good effort and I’m happy with the performance. Now we focus on the next days and try to maintain the position in GC and try to win. Good day and good team effort. If we continue like this it will be good!"