Tour de Pologne stage 5: Marijn van den Berg takes the biggest win of his career

EF Education-EasyPost rider Marijn van den Berg powered to victory on stage 5 of the Tour de Pologne, as another uphill finish produced an enthralling finale that saw multiple riders hit the deck in the melee for stage honours. It is the Dutchman’s first WorldTour win and his team’s 22nd victory of the season, putting them only one behind their 2014 high of 23.

With two category 1 climbs preceded by a category 2 test, stage 5 was always going to be a tough test for the peloton and so it proved. At just shy of 200km in length, there was plenty of time for the day’s breakaway to take shape, resulting in a frantic start to the stage with the likes of Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Dstny), Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma), Tim Wellens (Lotto Dstny) and Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) all on the attack.

On the flatlands before the intermediate sprint, a group of five riders went clear of the peloton and steadily built their advantage, solidifying themselves as the day’s definitive breakaway. De Gendt was included once more and this time he was joined by Mick van Dijk (Jumbo-Visma), Markus Hoelgaard (Lidl-Trek), Bert Van Lerberghe (Soudal-Quick Step) and Tobias Lund Andresen (dsm-firmenich).

The five-man group built an advantage of over five minutes, but this tumbled on the second and final category 1 climb of the day, upon which Ineos Grenadiers set a ferocious pace through the work of Thymen Arensman and Laurens De Plus. Hoelgaard was the first over the Salmopol summit and will wear the KoM jersey tomorrow. Given the lack of points available between now and the end of stage 7, if the Lidl-Trek rider finishes the Tour de Pologne he will leave the race having won the mountains classification.

Lund Andresen was the first rider to be dropped from the breakaway and caught by the peloton, shortly followed by Van Dijke and Van Lerberghe. Despite their best efforts, De Gendt and Hoelgaard were caught with 13km to ride, before Bahrain Victorious and Jayco AlUla led the reduced peloton onto the final lap of the Bielsko-Biala circuit that was to be tackled three and a half times before the line.

The final kilometre was dramatic and unfortunate for some, with five riders hitting the deck as the small bunch kicked uphill to the finish, but it was Marijn van den Berg who survived the chaos to power to his third professional victory. Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) and João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) finished a close second and third, to retain their positions as the top two on GC, respectively.

Sitting only 12 and 18 seconds down on Mohorič, Almeida and Michał Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) will hope to leapfrog the race leader in stage 6’s 16.6km-long individual time trial.