In the aftermath of quite an unusual day, the Tour de Pologne resumed on Thursday heading to Cieszyn, where a slight uphill sprint concluded a straightforward fourth stage. The Groupama-FDJ squad nicely got together in the final around Thibaud Gruel, who managed to show himself in the final tough kilometre, securing fourth place, very close to the stage podium.
Around Walbrzych, the general classification of the Tour de Pologne was supposed to further establish itself on Wednesday. Yet, a crash twenty kilometres from the finish led to the temporary neutralization of the stage, the regrouping of part of the peloton, and the cancellation of the gaps in terms of the overall. Ben Turner eventually won this special stage in a sprint, and another, more expected, bunch finish was looming on Thursday in Cieszyn, after 200 kilometres of racing. “We knew there wouldn’t be much action because there are quite a few sprinters in the peloton, and it wasn’t worth taking the breakaway,” commented Jussi. “This was the right choice, as only three Polish riders went away from the start. There wasn’t much to report during the stage, but it still went quite fast. The peloton was in single file all day, on roads in average condition that were still kind of hard for the legs.” After the final climb, with nearly fifty kilometres to go, the breakaway was down to a single rider, Filip Maciejuk, who then tackled the finishing circuit with a lead of less than a minute over the peloton.
“I couldn’t have done much better,” Thibaud Gruel
Aside from the uphill finish (700m at 4%), a few turns and downhills, a cobbled section was also to be covered several times in the final. “It’s one of the stages we had targeted with Thibaud,” Jussi explained. “The plan was to trust him and have a united squad around him. The circuit was very, very technical, but the guys were very focused.” With three laps to go, the Groupama-FDJ team settled into the front of the peloton, then mainly tried to stay up there. “Stefan and Clément had to be there to position Thibaud in the final,” Jussi said. “They slightly anticipated the work they had to do, but it wasn’t a bad thing given how technical the circuit was and how fast it was going. It was also Thibaud’s wish to rather be too well positioned than too poorly.” The young man entered the final six-kilometre lap in the very top of the bunch, alongside Clément Davy and Enzo Paleni, who also did his part a few moments later. “The main goal was to get out of the ‘washing machine’ with about three kilometres to go, before the cobblestones,” added Jussi. “That was Enzo’s role, and he handled it perfectly.”
With 2,500 metres to go, and all the way to the flamme rouge, the Frenchman led the pack at a frantic pace, just ahead of Thibaud Gruel. “The circuit was fast, there was a lot of fighting for position, and it was much more than just a sprint,” said Thibaud. “The whole team helped me a lot all day. Enzo and Clément did a great job in the final, and Enzo and I took the lead because we knew everyone was pretty much on the limit in the last two kilometres. I wanted to be in front at the last corner before the uphill finish and we came there in a pretty good position. Then, it got a bit hectic with 500m to go.” The French puncher still maintained his position towards the front and was able to launch his sprint in the wake of Paul Magnier with some 150 metres to go. Although he was unable to match his fellow countryman, Thibaud Gruel did however secure a solid fourth place, beaten in the photo finish for the podium. “It’s satisfying still, because I couldn’t have done much better,” he said. “I was at full speed at the end, so I don’t have many regrets.” The young man therefore equalled his best result in the WorldTour, set at the Tour of the Basque Country last April. “We trusted him on Tuesday, again today, and he shows that he is on the right track, in terms of progression and form,” concluded Jussi. “It’s very important. We will continue to trust him, starting tomorrow where the finish suits us.”
