"This wasn't the result we had hoped for" - Tour de Pologne GC goes down the drain for Visma as both leaders lose time on opening summit finish

Team Visma | Lease a Bike started off the Tour de Pologne strong with Olav Kooij winning the opening sprint stage but the team had ambitions outside of the bunch sprints too. In the summit finish to Karpacz the team had ambitions of finishing amongst the best but not a single rider was present in the large peloton that headed to an uphill sprint.

Kooij began the stage in the leader's jersey but the team didn't have to take responsibility on the day as several squads took to the front of the peloton to control the day's breakaway. Kooij was never going to survive the final 3-kilometer ascent but the team had cards to do so.

"Unfortunately, this wasn't the result we had hoped for. We rode a strong stage, but we fell short in the final kilometers," team DS Jesper Morkov said in a press release. The team hoped to see Matthew Brennan contest for a result but the young Briton lost 1:17 at the line. Steven Kruijswijk didn't do any better, but more problematic perhaps was Attila Valter also shedding 41 seconds in what was essentially a sprint between the GC riders.

The team has effectively lost most of it's GC hopes. Although it's not impossible that Valter - who is leaving the team towards Bahrain - Victorious at the end of the season - can bounce back, the legs he has shown this Tuesday. are not promising.

"He did that at the front of the peloton, supporting Matthew Brennan. Matthew definitely wanted to show himself today, but he didn't have much left in the end. Tomorrow he'll have another great opportunity to show himself. We're looking forward to that." Stage 3 will be a roller-coaster day with many climbs so perhaps not the day for Brennan to thrive, but there will still be a few opportunities later in the week.