Jonathan Milan's Hat-Trick! Stage 3 of the 83rd Tour de Pologne Behind Us

The peloton of the 83rd edition of the Tour de Pologne continued its battle, delivering another round of thrilling action to fans on Stage 3. For the third consecutive time, the in-form Italian Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) proved untouchable in the sprint finish, securing the stage victory and strengthening his lead in both the ORLEN General Classification and the Lang Team Points Classification.

Fierce Breakaway Battle and Controlled Pace

Right from the start, the racing was extremely fast, with the stage averaging over 45 km/h. The race saw multiple reshuffles along the route. In the early phase, Polish national team rider Radosław Frątczak joined a breakaway, leveraging his aggressive riding and a win at the first prime to extend his lead in the LOTTO Most Active Classification.

– From the start, we tried to get into the breakaway, and we succeeded, although a rider from Lotto Dstny joined me. It was quite an interesting situation because an UAE Team Emirates rider rode up and asked if I wanted to go with him and pick up points. I bridged up to the leader, and together we formed the break. I won the first prime, which allowed me to expand my lead in the classification. Towards the end of the race, a six-man breakaway formed and put a lot of pressure on the peloton – the gap reached 1 minute and 40 seconds, and the terrain was quite hilly. However, the biggest teams joined the chase, and the peloton eventually reeled us in. In the sprint, Marceli and I were riding together. Over the final 100–150 meters, we lacked a slightly better position due to braking on the left side, but we fought right to the very end – summarized Radosław Frątczak.

In the decisive phase of the stage, a strong 6-man breakaway established itself at the front, featuring Sjoerd Bax, Fabio Christen (both Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team), Matteo Sobrero (Lidl-Trek), Dries De Bondt (Team Jayco AlUla), Enzo Paleni (Groupama-FDJ United), and Taco van der Hoorn (Lotto Intermarché). The breakaway built an advantage reaching 1:40, dictating a hard pace across the hilly terrain. Out of the lead group, Dries De Bondt claimed a valuable point at the Category 3 PZU KOM prime in Przytok (1100 m; 4.1%), solidifying his lead in the PZU Mountain Classification.

– I was never really focused on winning the jersey. On the first day it was more of an attack attempt with the idea of reaching the finish line, and today I was thinking more about winning the stage. But if you’re riding in the leader’s jersey and points are up for grabs on the route, you go for them. From the point where we launched the attack to the climb itself was still a long way. We simply tried to create a scenario where we could fight for the stage victory. As you can see, it’s extremely hard to beat Jonathan in a bunch sprint. So we have to be creative and look for opportunities to avoid a sprint. I think we managed to work out that scenario today, but unfortunately, I got cramps in the final section and couldn’t fully cooperate with the guys in the breakaway. A great shame. Riding in Poland is great, the first three days have been really fantastic. Now I’m very curious about the mountains here. We’ll see how it goes – the real climbing starts now – said Dries De Bondt at the finish line.

Peloton Sprint and Another Victory for Milan

The charging peloton set a hard pace over the final kilometers. With 27 km to go, the breakaway’s lead stood at 1:05, dropping to just 20 seconds with 10 km remaining. The breakaway’s move was officially neutralized 4 kilometers from the line.

The closing moments saw a fierce battle between sprint trains, with Lidl-Trek and Tudor Pro Cycling Team driving the pace at the front. On the final meters, Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) proved unmatched once again, claiming his third consecutive stage victory ahead of Noah Hobbs (EF Education-EasyPost) and Alessandro Romele (XDS Astana Team).

The top-placed Polish rider on Stage 3 was Marceli Bogusławski, who crossed the finish line in 27th place.

– A breakaway formed with our rider, and the peloton settled in to control the race. Around the 30th–40th kilometer, the break was caught, and then another one formed. And that was the story all the way to the line – the sprinters’ teams kept everything under control. However, the last 10 kilometers were insanely chaotic. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to contend because I was way too far back heading into the final roundabouts. I got boxed in and couldn’t even launch my sprint at the end. There’s a bit of disappointment because it was the conclusion of a flat sprinter stage, so it’s a real shame. Overall, we’re happy with how things are going. Taking 9th place in such a stacked field against the best sprinters in the world is a big success for us. A top ten finish is something we can be very satisfied with – commented Marceli Bogusławski.

International Broadcast to 65 Countries

Fans can follow the action live across all 7 stages on Telewizja Polska, Eurosport, and the Max streaming platform. Thanks to this extensive coverage, broadcasts reach viewers in 65 countries worldwide, combining world-class sporting competition with the promotion of Poland’s most scenic regions.

Stage 3 Top 5 Results (83rd Tour de Pologne):

Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
Noah Hobbs (EF Education-EasyPost)
Alessandro Romele (XDS Astana Team)
Oded Kogut (Israel-Premier Tech / NSN)
Daniel Skerl (Bahrain – Victorious)

Classification Leaders after Three Stages:

ORLEN General Classification (yellow jersey): Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
Lang Team Points Classification (white jersey): Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
PZU Mountain Classification (white jersey with blue polka dots): Dries De Bondt (Team Jayco AlUla)
LOTTO Most Active Classification (blue jersey): Radosław Frątczak (Poland National Team)
ORLEN VITAY Best Polish Rider Award (Stage 3): Marceli Bogusławski (Poland National Team)

Further challenges await the peloton on the route of the 83rd Tour de Pologne. The battle is intensifying as riders head south toward the upcoming stages.