Germany’s Andre Greipel dominated a bunch sprint to claim victory in the second stage of the Tour of Poland on Monday.
The HTC-Columbia sprinter came over the finish line of the 240km stage between Rawa Mazowiecka and Dabrowa Gornicza ahead of Australian Allan Davis in second and third-placed Belgian Wouter Weylandt.
Thanks to the time bonuses at the finish line, Astana sprinter Davis thus takes over the race lead from Italian Jacopo Guarnieri, the Liquigas sprinter who won the opening stage on Sunday.
Despite his pedigree, Greipel was overlooked by his HTC-Columbia team for the recent Tour de France, where teammate Mark Cavendish claimed five stage wins from bunch finishes to take his tally to a remarkable 15 from the race.
However, that snub has not dented the ambitions of the 28-year-old German as he picked up his 15th win of the season and his first since he took two stages of the Tour of Austria last month.
“The sprint was a bit dangerous, slightly downhill, but I found a gap,” Greipel said.
“Then I was quite happy to find another gap to start my sprint. Everyone was pretty tired after such a long stage and the hot and humid weather wasn’t pleasant. But I felt better and better as we got close to the finish,” he said.
Greipel is hoping to bag another stage win or two, although he knows his chances will virtually end once the hillier part of the seven-day race begins.
“I got a stage victory here last year and the finishes are pretty similar — wide roads and downhills — so I can be optimistic,” he said.
“Whatever happens, this was a good win and it’s a great start to the second part of the season,” Greipel added.
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