Two in a row for Pelucchi in Poland

Matteo Pelucchi (IAM Cycling) won his second stage in a row at Tour of Poland on Tuesday, sprinting to victory in stage 3 after 166km of racing from Zawiercie to Katowice.

“This second victory boosts my morale, but it’s also a great thing for the team since we’re all preparing for the Vuelta too,” said Pelucchi. “And that is my next goal.”

Trek Factory Racing’s Giacomo Nizzolo ended up on the podium again, this time in second place, ahead of LottoNL-Jumbo’s Tom Van Asbroeck. Despite a seventh-place finish in stage 3, Marcel Kittel (Giant-Alpecin), winner of stage 1, kept his overall lead by six seconds over Nizzolo. Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEdge) is third, 10 seconds back.

The early breakaway included Matej Mohoric (Cannondale-Garmin), Marcin Bialoblocki (One Pro), Kamil Gradek (ActiveJet), Ian Boswell (Sky), Adrian Kurek (CCC Sprandi-Polkowice), and Marcus Burghardt (BMC). However, the day’s flat course was meant for the sprinters. The break never got more than three minutes’ advantage and was pulled back with 60 kilometers left, aside from Bialoblocki, who pressed on alone, only to be caught with 4km left.

“Today we tried a different tactic with the guys, and I am very glad that it paid off,” explained the winner. “Just after the false flat in the last kilometers, a small group including some very good sprinters managed to get a bit of a gap. I was extremely fortunate to have Vicente Reynes and Roger Kluge with me. They were able to plug the hole, and I just had to stay on their wheels. It was perfect. They put me in the front position, and instead of kicking my sprint off, I preferred to wait until the last possible moment to produce my top effort. That was a good idea, but in practice I know it can be dangerous.”

Wednesday’s stage 4 will offer three significant climbs over the 220km course from Jaworzno to Nowy Sacz, but will see a flat, 28-kilometer run-in to the finish.

Top 10 results

• 1. Matteo PELUCCHI, IAM CYCLING, in 3:48:41
• 2. Giacomo NIZZOLO, TREK FACTORY RACING, at :00
• 3. Tom VAN ASBROECK, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at :00
• 4. Roberto FERRARI, LAMPRE – MERIDA, at :00
• 5. Niccolo BONIFAZIO, LAMPRE – MERIDA, at :00
• 6. Gianni MEERSMAN, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at :00
• 7. Marcel KITTEL, TEAM GIANT – ALPECIN, at :00
• 8. Pawel FRANCZAK, POL, at :00
• 9. Andrea GUARDINI, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :00
• 10. Roger KLUGE, IAM CYCLING, at :00

Top 10 GC after stage 3

• 1. Marcel KITTEL, TEAM GIANT – ALPECIN, in 9:51:50
• 2. Giacomo NIZZOLO, TREK FACTORY RACING, at :06
• 3. Caleb EWAN, ORICA GreenEDGE, at :10
• 4. Marcus BURGHARDT, BMC RACING TEAM, at :10
• 5. Niccolo BONIFAZIO, LAMPRE – MERIDA, at :12
• 6. Tom VAN ASBROECK, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at :12
• 7. Sébastien TURGOT, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at :16
• 8. Salvatore PUCCIO, TEAM SKY, at :16
• 9. Lorenzo MANZIN, FDJ, at :16
• 10. Nikias ARNDT, TEAM GIANT – ALPECIN, at :16