The 2012 Tour de Pologne was the 69th running of the
Tour de Pologne
The Tour de Pologne (; ), officially abbreviated TdP, is an annual, professional men's Race stage, multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race primarily held in Poland. It consists of seven or eight stages and is usually around 1,200 km ...
cycling stage race. It started on 10 July in
Karpacz and ended on 16 July in
Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
, after seven stages.
It was the 19th race of the
2012 UCI World Tour
The 2012 UCI World Tour was the fourth edition of the ranking system launched by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in 2009. The series started with the Tour Down Under's opening stage on 17 January, and consisted of 14 stage races, 14 one-da ...
season.
The race was won by rider
Moreno Moser
Moreno Moser (born 25 December 1990) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2012 and 2019 for the , , and the teams.
Born in Trento, Moser comes from a family of professional cyclists; his uncles ...
,
who claimed the leader's yellow jersey after winning the penultimate stage, and maintained the lead of the race until its conclusion; he also won the race's opening stage, his first wins at World Tour level. Moser's winning margin over runner-up
Michał Kwiatkowski of – the highest-placed Polish rider – was five seconds, and 's
Sergio Henao
Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (born 10 December 1987) is a Colombian racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Continental team . He previously competed for , and .
Early life
Henao was born in Rionegro (Antioquia), Rionegro in 1987, the same year that th ...
completed the podium,
eleven seconds down on Kwiatkowski and sixteen behind Moser.
In the race's other classifications, rider
Tomasz Marczyński won the King of the Mountains classification,
's
Ben Swift
Benjamin John Swift (born 5 November 1987) is a British professional Track cycling, track and road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Swift won the UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Men's scratch, scratch race a ...
won the white jersey for the points classification after winning two stages during the event,
and
Adrian Kurek
Adrian Kurek (born 29 March 1988) is a Polish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2012 and 2021 for the , and teams. Following his retirement, Kurek now coaches the Kuwaiti national cycling team.
He competed ...
of won the intermediate sprints classification,
for the second year in succession. As well as their two-stage victories, finished at the head of the teams classification.
Schedule
Aside from entering the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
(to the city of
Český Těšín
Český Těšín (; ; ) is a town in Karviná District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants.
Český Těšín lies on the west bank of the Olza (river), Olza river, in the heart of the historical ...
on the border with
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
) during the third stage, the race stages started and ended in Polish locations.
Participating teams
As the Tour de Pologne was a UCI World Tour event, all eighteen
UCI ProTeam UCI most commonly refers to:
* University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States
* Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling
UCI may also refer to:
* Uganda Cancer In ...
s were invited automatically and obligated to send a squad. Along with
Team Poland BGŻ – the Polish national team – six other squads were given wildcard places into the race, and as such, formed the event's 25-team peloton.
The twenty-five teams that competed in the race were:
Stages
Stage 1
;10 July 2012 —
Karpacz to
Jelenia Góra
Jelenia Góra (; ; ) is a historic city in southwestern Poland, within the historical region of Lower Silesia. Jelenia Góra is situated in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, close to the Karkonosze mountain range running along the Polish-Czech bo ...
,
The opening stage of the Tour began with of riding, prior to entering a loop around Karpacz and Jelenia Góra, where the riders would complete four laps before the finish.
Included on each lap was a first-category climb at the
Karpacz Orlinek, a site for ski jumping during the winter months, while on the third full lap of the circuit, there was an intermediate sprint in Karpacz offering bonus seconds towards the general classification. A five-rider breakaway was initiated in the early kilometres of the stage; the move consisted of 's
Sylvain Georges, rider
Jarosław Marycz,
Daniel Teklehaymanot of , Federico Rocchetti () and Bartłomiej Matysiak, riding for the representative
Team Poland BGŻ.
The quintet opened up a maximum advantage of nine minutes over the rest of the field during the second circuit, as rain began to dampen the parcours, and it eventually resulted in a crash in the main field. Among the riders going down were teammates
Tom Boonen
Tom Boonen (; born 15 October 1980) is a Belgian former road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2002 and 2017 for the and teams and a professional racing driver who currently competes in Belcar, having previously competed in ...
and
Niki Terpstra
Niki Terpstra (; born 18 May 1984) is a Dutch former racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2003 and 2022 for six different teams. He is the brother of fellow racing cyclist Mike Terpstra (cyclist), Mike Terpstra. He is the third Dutch c ...
, as well as 's
Fabio Sabatini; of the riders, only Boonen was able to rejoin the peloton,
as Terpstra abandoned after the crash due to injuries suffered, and Sabatini was taken off the parcours in an ambulance but suffered only heavy bruising in the incident. 's
Sergio Henao
Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (born 10 December 1987) is a Colombian racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Continental team . He previously competed for , and .
Early life
Henao was born in Rionegro (Antioquia), Rionegro in 1987, the same year that th ...
tried to chase down the leaders from out of peloton, but could not bridge the gap to them. Marycz, Teklehaymanot and Georges dropped Rocchetti and Matysiak with around remaining of the stage, with bringing the advantage to beneath two minutes.
Georges looked to go clear on his own, on the fourth and final climb of the Karpacz Orlinek but could not hold off until the summit when the peloton, now led by Henao and his teammate
Lars Petter Nordhaug, swept past him. The work carried out by and on the front of the peloton had reduced the main field to just 36 riders.
Alexandr Kolobnev
Alexandr Vasilievich Kolobnev (; born 4 May 1981) is a Russian former professional road bicycle racer. His major victories include winning the 2007 Monte Paschi Eroica, a stage of the 2007 Paris–Nice and he is a two-time winner of the Russi ...
launched an attack on the descent of the climb for but was brought back to the peloton.
Christophe Le Mével then went clear for but he was passed by a secondary move by Kolobnev inside of the final of the stage. However, Kolobnev faded on the false flat to the finish; from the reduced pack, 's
Moreno Moser
Moreno Moser (born 25 December 1990) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2012 and 2019 for the , , and the teams.
Born in Trento, Moser comes from a family of professional cyclists; his uncles ...
launched a late attack – akin to his victories in the
Trofeo Laigueglia
The Trofeo Laigueglia is an early season road bicycle race held annually in Liguria, Italy. It is held about ten days after the opening to the Italian season, the Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi. From 2005 to 2014, the race was organised as a ...
and the
Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop earlier in the year – and managed to hold off the rest of the field for his first World Tour victory. Moser finished ahead of the best-placed Polish rider
Michał Kwiatkowski () and rider
Lars Boom.
Stage 2
;11 July 2012 —
Wałbrzych
Wałbrzych (; ; or ''Walmbrich''; or ) is a city located in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in southwestern Poland, seat of Wałbrzych County. Wałbrzych lies approximately southwest of the voivodeship capital Wrocław and about from the Czec ...
to
Opole
Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of ...
,
With a parcours of ,
the second stage was the longest of the 2012 edition of the Tour de Pologne.
On the route from Wałbrzych, there were three intermediate sprint points in the towns of
Paczków
Paczków (; ) is a town in Nysa County, Opole Voivodeship, in southern Poland, with 7,460 inhabitants (2019). It is one of the few towns in Europe in which medieval fortifications have been almost completely preserved.[Prudnik
Prudnik (, , , ) is a town in southern Poland, located in the southern part of Opole Voivodeship near the border with the Czech Republic. It is the administrative seat of Prudnik County and Gmina Prudnik. Its population numbers 21,368 inhabitant ...]
and
Krapkowice
Krapkowice (; ; ) is a town in southern Poland with 16,301 inhabitants (2019), situated in the Opole Voivodeship, straddling both banks of the Oder River at the point where it joins with the Osobłoga. It is the regional capital of Krapkowice Cou ...
, as well as a third-category climb in the village of
Chrząszczyce, from the end of the stage. The final of the stage was conducted in three laps of a circuit within Opole. The breakaway was almost entirely made up of home riders, as Polish trio Damian Walczak,
Łukasz Bodnar
Łukasz Bodnar (born 10 May 1982) is a Polish former road bicycle racer, who competed professionally between 2003 and 2016 for the , , , and teams. He is the brother of fellow racing cyclist Maciej Bodnar.
Major results
;2000
: 3rd Time trial, ...
(both riding for the representative
Team Poland BGŻ) and 's Adrian Kurek were joined at the head of proceedings by Italian
Diego Caccia, riding for the team.
With Bodnar being best-placed of the quartet, at just 1' 13" behind overnight leader
Moreno Moser
Moreno Moser (born 25 December 1990) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2012 and 2019 for the , , and the teams.
Born in Trento, Moser comes from a family of professional cyclists; his uncles ...
of , the peloton did not allow for them to accumulate a substantial advantage on the road,
but the leaders did acquire a ten-minute advantage at one point.
Bodnar did however gain nine seconds during the stage, by taking first place at each of the three intermediate sprint points,
and assumed the red jersey for that classification.
Once he had done so, he returned to the peloton to allow for their advantage to grow once again. The leaders were three minutes clear with remaining, when Caccia made his move off the front.
By the time he crossed the finish line in Opole for the first time, with left, the lead had been almost halved. Caccia held off until the final lap, when he was caught by the sprinters' teams. and were prominent at the front of the main field for
Theo Bos
Theo Bos (born 22 August 1983) is a Dutch former professional road and track cyclist. An Olympic silver medalist and five-time world champion, he is the brother of Olympic medalist in speed skating Jan Bos.
On 29 November 2021, he announced ...
and
Ben Swift
Benjamin John Swift (born 5 November 1987) is a British professional Track cycling, track and road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Swift won the UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Men's scratch, scratch race a ...
respectively,
and it was Swift that out-sprinted everyone for his first road win of the year. Moser maintained his race lead, despite crashing late on.
Stage 3
;12 July 2012 —
Kędzierzyn-Koźle
Kędzierzyn-Koźle () is a city in south-western Poland, the administrative center of Kędzierzyn-Koźle County. With 58,899 inhabitants as of 2021, it is the second most-populous city in the Opole Voivodeship.
Founded from the merger of the prev ...
to
Cieszyn
Cieszyn ( , ; ; ) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitants ( and lies opposite Český Těšín in the Czech Repu ...
,
The stage started in Kędzierzyn-Koźle, moving south-west towards the finish including a short distance covered in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
around
Český Těšín
Český Těšín (; ; ) is a town in Karviná District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants.
Český Těšín lies on the west bank of the Olza (river), Olza river, in the heart of the historical ...
, before returning to Poland for the finish in Cieszyn. There were three categorised climbs, with two ascents of the ''
Kubalonka'' climb – one during each lap of a -long intermediary circuit around the towns of
Wisła
Wisła (; ; ) is a town in Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, with a population of about 11,132 (2019), near the border with the Czech Republic. It is situated in the Silesian Beskids mountain range in the historical region of ...
and
Czarne
Czarne (; ) is a town in Człuchów County of the Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland. As of December 2022, the town has a population of 5,368.
Founded in the Middle Ages and granted town rights in 1395, Czarne is a former royal town of ...
– and the other being a third of the way around a closing circuit in Cieszyn. As well as the climbs, there were also three intermediate sprint points during the parcours, held in
Skoczów,
Ustroń
Ustroń is a health resort town in Cieszyn Silesia, southern Poland. Since 1999, it has been part of the Silesian Voivodeship, having previously been in Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998. It lies on the Silesian Beskids mountain ra ...
and in Český Těšín, prior to entering the finishing circuit which was to be completed three times. Three riders – rider
Fumiyuki Beppu
Fumiyuki Beppu (; born 10 April 1983) is a Japanese former professional road bicycle racer, who last rode for UCI WorldTeam . His older brother is the cyclist Takumi Beppu.
Career
Team Discovery (2005–2007)
Beppu turned professional with in ...
, 's
Gabriele Bosisio
Gabriele Bosisio (born 6 August 1980 in Lecco) is a retired Italian professional road bicycle racer. Bosisio rode for between 2003 and 2005 and for UCI Professional Continental team between 2008 and 2009.
On 6 October 2009 it was announced t ...
and Mateusz Taciak representing the national
Team Poland BGŻ – went clear in the early kilometres of the stage, and quickly established a substantial lead on the road, reaching a maximum of seventeen minutes. However, this advantage was still not enough to last all the way to the finish; indeed, the trio were caught at the start of the first of three finishing circuits in Cieszyn.
A counter-attack of three more riders – Taciak's teammate
Marek Rutkiewicz
Marek Rutkiewicz (born 8 May 1981) is a Polish former road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2001 and 2020 for seven different teams. Rutkiewicz's strength was in climbing and his victories came in hilly races, including the mountain ...
, Matteo Trentin of and rider
Jussi Veikkanen – went clear on the opening lap, but the peloton were closing in on them. Rutkiewicz went alone from the lead group, and was eventually caught by 's
Sergio Henao
Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (born 10 December 1987) is a Colombian racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Continental team . He previously competed for , and .
Early life
Henao was born in Rionegro (Antioquia), Rionegro in 1987, the same year that th ...
,
who had attacked from the main field; Henao had been placed seventh in the general classification overnight, trailing leader
Moreno Moser
Moreno Moser (born 25 December 1990) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2012 and 2019 for the , , and the teams.
Born in Trento, Moser comes from a family of professional cyclists; his uncles ...
() by just ten seconds, with ten bonus seconds on offer at the stage finish for the winner. Henao and Rutkiewicz resisted off the front until the final cobbled climb to the finish; Moser was in contention for the stage win,
but it was
Zdeněk Štybar who finished strongest for , taking victory – his first at World Tour level,
and second win of the season
– ahead of 's
Francesco Gavazzi and
Sacha Modolo
Sacha Modolo (born 19 June 1987) is an Italian road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam .
Career
Colnago-CSF (2010–2013)
In the spring of 2010, he sprinted his way to fourth place in the cycling monument Milan – San ...
of .
Moser's overall lead was reduced to one second,
after Štybar's teammate
Michał Kwiatkowski gained three seconds at one of the sprint points.
Stage 4
;13 July 2012 —
Będzin
Będzin (; also seen spelled ''Bendzin''; ) is a city in the Dąbrowa Basin, in southern Poland. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Czarna Przemsza River (a tributary of the Vistula River, Vistula). Even though part of Silesian Voivodeship ...
to
Katowice
Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...
,
The fourth stage was seen as the best chance for the sprinters to take a stage victory out of the entire Tour de Pologne. At , the parcours was the shortest of the Tour, with circuits in both the start town of Będzin – three laps of a circuit – and in the finishing location of Katowice, where six laps of an circuit were completed.
There were two categorised climbs during the stage – both third-category – at
Syberka and on the penultimate finishing circuit, as well as three intermediate sprint points at
Dąbrowa Górnicza
Dąbrowa Górnicza () is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, southern Poland, near Katowice and Sosnowiec. It is located in eastern part of the Silesian Voivodeship, on the Czarna Przemsza and Biała Przemsza rivers (tributaries of the Vistula Rive ...
,
Siemianowice Śląskie
Siemianowice Śląskie (; ; ) also known as Siemianowice is a city in Upper Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice, in the core of the Metropolis GZM - a metropolis with a population of 2 million people and is located in the Silesian Highlands, ...
and on the fourth Katowice circuit.
Michał Kwiatkowski of was first across the line at the first sprint point in Dąbrowa Górnicza, picking up three seconds on race leader
Moreno Moser
Moreno Moser (born 25 December 1990) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2012 and 2019 for the , , and the teams.
Born in Trento, Moser comes from a family of professional cyclists; his uncles ...
() thanks to help from teammate
Tom Boonen
Tom Boonen (; born 15 October 1980) is a Belgian former road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2002 and 2017 for the and teams and a professional racing driver who currently competes in Belcar, having previously competed in ...
, and became the virtual race leader on the route.
The breakaway was formed thereafter, with four riders making up the move; rider
Adrian Kurek
Adrian Kurek (born 29 March 1988) is a Polish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2012 and 2021 for the , and teams. Following his retirement, Kurek now coaches the Kuwaiti national cycling team.
He competed ...
was joined in the group by 's
Rafael Andriato, Martijn Verschoor of and
Ángel Madrazo,
representing the and the quartet managed to get clear by around three minutes at one point during the stage.
However, they were not to be successful as they were brought back by the peloton on the final circuit in Katowice. Polish national champion
Michał Gołaś
Michał Gołaś (born 29 April 1984) is a Polish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2007 and 2021 for five different professional teams. Specialising as a domestique, Gołaś took two victories during his pro ...
() looked to go clear,
but he could not gain sufficient ground on the peloton in the closing stages. Thus, it was down to the sprinters' teams to sort out the order and tempo at the front of the main field. looked to get
Ben Swift
Benjamin John Swift (born 5 November 1987) is a British professional Track cycling, track and road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Swift won the UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Men's scratch, scratch race a ...
into play for the sprint, but
Aidis Kruopis () launched his sprint off Swift's wheel,
and took his first win at World Tour level.
Kwiatkowski held his two-second lead to the end of the stage, to take the yellow jersey from Moser.
Kurek moved into the red jersey, thanks to points achieved in the day's breakaway.
Stage 5
;14 July 2012 —
Rabka-Zdrój to
Zakopane
Zakopane (Gorals#Language, Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has ...
,
With six categorised climbs during the stage – one of which, the ''Wierch Olczański'', came in the early running of the stage before three passes of a climb into Zakopane before the finish, as well as two climbs of the ''Głodówka'' – the stage was not originally suited towards the sprinters. A five-rider breakaway was formed in the early kilometres of the stage, consisting of 's
Mikhail Ignatiev, rider
Mickaël Delage,
Bert De Backer of ,
Rafael Andriato () and
Davide Mucelli representing .
They managed to establish a maximum advantage of around four minutes on the peloton,
which was led by , who were protecting the overall leader of the race,
Michał Kwiatkowski.
As the leaders approached Zakopane for the first time, Ignatiev saw fit to attack off the front of the lead quintet and went away solo from the group.
Delage later launched his own move, but remained a couple of minutes behind his former breakaway companion. However, he did not make much headway from the chasing peloton, who closed down a minute's gap before the second and final intermediate sprint of the day, coming with remaining in the town of
Cyrhla. After Ignatiev had pedalled through for the three bonus seconds on offer for first, 's
Moreno Moser
Moreno Moser (born 25 December 1990) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2012 and 2019 for the , , and the teams.
Born in Trento, Moser comes from a family of professional cyclists; his uncles ...
, trailing Kwiatkowski by two seconds in the general classification overnight, made a bold move for the bonus time at the line. He did gain the two seconds for second place, but Kwiatkowski countered his move to take the one second for third, maintaining his overall lead by one second.
Ignatiev remained off the front until halfway around the final circuit, when he was caught by 's
David López García, but both riders were eventually brought back to the peloton. Four riders made a counter-move immediately after that, and managed to gather up a 25-second advantage into the final of the stage. 's
Jan Bakelants broke the group up with a solo attack, which sent
Maciej Bodnar
Maciej Bodnar (born 7 March 1985, in Oława) is a Polish former professional road racing cyclist, who competed as a professional from 2007 to 2023. He is the brother of fellow racing cyclist Łukasz Bodnar. Bodnar was a team-mate of Peter Sagan ...
() back to the peloton, as he could not stay with the group. Bakelants was caught prior to reaching the final summit of the stage,
with to go, which ultimately led for the sprint finish to be undertaken. were first to play their hand along with 's
Michael Matthews, but both moves were far too early for any effect at the line. Bodnar's teammate
Elia Viviani
Elia Viviani (born 7 February 1989) is an Italian professional Cycle sport, cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProSeries, UCI ProTeam . On 10 May 2015, Viviani won his first Grand Tour stage victory at the 2015 Giro d'Italia, Giro d'Italia, win ...
was behind, but was beaten to the sprint by the points leader
Ben Swift
Benjamin John Swift (born 5 November 1987) is a British professional Track cycling, track and road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Swift won the UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Men's scratch, scratch race a ...
(), who took his second win of the race,
and extended his lead in the classification.
Stage 6
;15 July 2012 —
Terma Bukowina Tatrzańska to
Bukowina Tatrzańska
Bukowina Tatrzańska , () is a village in Tatra County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Bukowina Tatrzańska. It lies approximatel ...
,
The queen stage of the Tour de Pologne, the penultimate stage of the race consisted of a lap of , followed by four laps of a -long circuit around Bukowina Tatrzańska with two first-category climbs on each lap; around into each lap, there was an ascent in the village of
Ząb, with a maximum gradient of 11.4%, and a much steeper climb in
Gliczarów Górny, with a maximum gradient of 21.5%. On the fourth lap, there was also an intermediate sprint point at Wierch Olczański, but as a whole, the stage remained below above sea level.
Mountains classification leader
Daniel Teklehaymanot () took maximum points at the day's opening climb prior to the breakaway being formed, extending his lead in the classification.
Thereafter, a five-rider breakaway was initiated around halfway around the opening circuit of the stage; the move consisted of 's
Tom-Jelte Slagter, rider
Roman Kreuziger,
Ian Stannard of ,
Tomasz Marczyński () and
Bartosz Huzarski, riding for the representative
Team Poland BGŻ.
The quintet were able to establish an advantage of around five minutes midway through the stage, but their advantage was not a stage-winning gap, as attacks from the peloton meant that they were surpassed on the final lap.
Stannard's teammate
Sergio Henao
Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (born 10 December 1987) is a Colombian racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Continental team . He previously competed for , and .
Early life
Henao was born in Rionegro (Antioquia), Rionegro in 1987, the same year that th ...
counter-attacked immediately after, where he was chased by 's
Przemysław Niemiec
Przemysław Niemiec (born 11 April 1980) is a Polish former road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2018 for the , and squads.
Career
He made his professional debut in 2002 for the team . Born in Oświęcim, Niemiec won ...
and rider
Jon Izagirre.
Stannard attacked once again,
before Henao took a second chance of his own, attacking off the front of the peloton. Henao resisted capture until to go, where a quick-finishing
Moreno Moser
Moreno Moser (born 25 December 1990) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2012 and 2019 for the , , and the teams.
Born in Trento, Moser comes from a family of professional cyclists; his uncles ...
() surpassed him for his second stage win at the race. With Henao finishing second ahead of 's
Michał Kwiatkowski,
Moser took the overall lead by five seconds,
thanks to time bonuses.
Stage 7
;16 July 2012 —
Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
to Kraków,
As was the case in the
2011 edition of the race, the final general classification battle was to come down to a final circuit race around Kraków. After a opening to the stage, the riders contested two loops around the town of
Wieliczka
Wieliczka (German: ''Groß Salze'', Latin: ''Magnum Sal'') is a historic town in southern Poland, situated within the Kraków metropolitan area in Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. The town was initially founded in 1290 by Premislaus II of P ...
; there was a further of racing before the riders entered the finishing circuit of , to be completed on seven occasions. Each circuit had an intermediate sprint point on one of the laps, while there was only one categorised climb during the Wieliczka loop, before the end of the second lap. In the early kilometres, twelve riders representing twelve teams established the day's breakaway,
including the winner of the third stage,
Zdeněk Štybar of .
The group managed to establish an advantage of around three minutes,
but the peloton – being led by the team, protecting the race leader
Moreno Moser
Moreno Moser (born 25 December 1990) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2012 and 2019 for the , , and the teams.
Born in Trento, Moser comes from a family of professional cyclists; his uncles ...
– were being attentive in light of the close margins in the general classification.
Bonus seconds on offer at the intermediate sprint points, but the breakaway took all the available points during the circuits,
meaning that Moser could only be beaten at the stage finish. 's
Jarosław Marycz and rider
Juan Antonio Flecha
Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (born 17 September 1977) is an Argentina, Argentine-born Spanish former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2000 and 2013. Flecha had a reputation of being a Classic cycle races, C ...
looked to break the lead group apart on the final lap,
before Marycz attacked solo, but the group were eventually brought back by the peloton with remaining. It was at this point that a torrential downpour hit the race,
and made the sprint for the line treacherous. moved forward in the peloton for their sprinter
John Degenkolb
John Degenkolb (born 7 January 1989) is a German professional road bicycle racer, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . His biggest wins to date are the 2015 Milan–San Remo and the 2015 Paris–Roubaix, two of cycling's five Cycling monument, monuments ...
,
and Degenkolb managed to hold off the advances of duo
Mathew Hayman and
Ben Swift
Benjamin John Swift (born 5 November 1987) is a British professional Track cycling, track and road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Swift won the UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Men's scratch, scratch race a ...
to take the victory,
his sixth of the season. Moser finished in the pack to secure the general classification by five seconds ahead of Štybar's teammate
Michał Kwiatkowski.
Classification leadership table
In the 2012 Tour de Pologne, four different jerseys were awarded. For the
general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, and allowing time bonuses in intermediate sprints and at the finish in mass-start stages, the leader received a yellow jersey.
This classification was considered the most important of the 2012 Tour de Pologne, and the winner of the classification is the winner of the race.
There was also a
mountains classification, the leadership of which was marked by a fuchsia jersey, representing the
Tauron Group, the sponsors of the classification.
In the mountains classification, points were won by reaching the top of a climb before other cyclists, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs, which were split into three distinctive categories.
Double points were awarded for the final climb of the race, on the penultimate stage.
The third jersey represented the points classification, marked by a white-and-red jersey.
In the points classification, cyclists got points for finishing in the top 20 in a stage. For all stages, the win earned 20 points, second place earned 19 points, third 18, and one point fewer per place down to a single point for 20th.
The fourth jersey represented the sprints classification, marked by a red jersey.
In the sprints classification, cyclists received points for finishing in the top 3 at intermediate sprint points during each stage, with the exception of the
individual time trial
An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also trac ...
stages.
There was also a classification for teams, in which the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added together; the leading team at the end of the race was the team with the lowest total time.
;Notes:
* In stages 2 and 4,
Michał Kwiatkowski, who was second in the points classification, wore the white jersey, because
Moreno Moser
Moreno Moser (born 25 December 1990) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2012 and 2019 for the , , and the teams.
Born in Trento, Moser comes from a family of professional cyclists; his uncles ...
(in first place) wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification during that stage.
References
External links
*
{{Tour de Pologne
Tour de Pologne
The Tour de Pologne (; ), officially abbreviated TdP, is an annual, professional men's Race stage, multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race primarily held in Poland. It consists of seven or eight stages and is usually around 1,200 km ...
Tour de Pologne
Tour de Pologne
The Tour de Pologne (; ), officially abbreviated TdP, is an annual, professional men's Race stage, multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race primarily held in Poland. It consists of seven or eight stages and is usually around 1,200 km ...
July 2012 sports events in Europe