The Tour de Pologne was rocked by chaos Wednesday when a crash in the closing 25km of stage 3 saw yellow jersey Paul Lapeira and three others hit the deck in a high-speed spill on narrow roads, prompting officials to stop the stage for a reset.
Riders were waved to a stop after Lapeira, Rafal Majka (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious), and Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) were among several caught in a pile-up that hurled riders into a roadside cement ditch, prompting flashbacks to the harrowing crash at the 2024 Itzulia Basque Country.
Organizers halted the race at 15km to go, stopping a three-man breakaway of Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar), Kelland O’Brien (Jayco-AlUla), and Diego Ulissi (XDS-Astana) and the rest of the bunch while officials and team directors scrambled to assure the safety of the riders involved.
“With just over 20 kilometres to go, a crash occurred, involving the race leader among others. All of our medical vehicles stopped to assist those injured. We decided to neutralize the race to allow the ambulances to re-take their position in the convoy. After that the race restarted the times remained unchanged,” said the race’s general director.
When the stage resumed, the clock was restarted with the trio given about 45 seconds, and race officials confirmed that the GC would be neutralized in the stage.
Despite the disruption, Ben Turner (Ineos Grenadiers) kicked to his second pro win in the bunch gallop after the reset.
“It was a nervous day; the course was tough and everyone wanted to stay at the front. Unfortunately, there was a crash, and I hope everyone is okay. You never want to see that. After the neutralisation, we had a plan, we executed it perfectly, and I’m glad I could finish it off with a win,” Turner said.
Caída importante en la tercera etapa del @Tour_De_Pologne, con el líder Paul Lapeira, Rafal Majka y Mathias Vacek implicados
El tramo final, en #E1 y @StreamMaxES pic.twitter.com/jHpysQoyxc
— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) August 6, 2025
Lapeira, winner of the uphill kicker Tuesday to take the leader’s jersey, was originally reported as a DNF, but made it across the line to keep the lead.
“Paul Lapeira suffered a heavy crash in the final part of the third stage of the Tour de Pologne. However, he was able to finish the stage,” a team note read.
“He sustained multiple abrasions and minor cracks in two ribs. Following the crash, the general classification times were neutralized, so Paul retains the leader’s jersey and will be at the start of the fourth stage tomorrow.”
Vacek, who started Wednesday in second place, did not finish.
It’s another unfortunate incident to hit the Tour de Pologne, which saw witness to the horrific crash involving Fabio Jakobsen, who crashed through the barriers after Dylan Groenewegen shut down a sprint in 2020.