Hot and heavy day in the saddle on stage three of the Tour de Pologne
08 August 2020
Race: TDP Stage 3
Date: 7th August 2020
Start/Finish: Wadowice – Bielsko-Bala, Slaskie
Distance: 203.1 km
Charles Planet (FRA)
Man. It was a really tough day in the saddle today, it was very hot and it’s fair to say that’s not my favourite kind of condition for 200 kilometers of WorldTour racing with seven categorised climbs, but I gave my best.
I made it over the climbs and managed to stay with the leading group as it reduced until the last circuit and then I slipped back and had to fight hard to keep my pace. I felt dehydrated on the last lap and that didn’t help.
Even though it was a difficult day, my legs felt pretty good and we look ahead to tomorrow and Sunday now.
Massimo Podenzana, DS
It was a hard day today, there’s no doubt about it. The heat, the climbs, the speed, the distance of the stage, it all takes it out of you. Our guys suffer more in these kind of conditions and have to be more careful, more attentive.
They worked hard as always and even though we didn’t get what we wanted out of the stage you have to give them credit because they kept fighting until the very end. Now we have to recover for tomorrow, because it will be another very tough day, maybe even harder than today.
If we can come through tomorrow ok, we have another opportunity on Sunday’s final stage to get out front and show the jersey.
Next Up:
Tomorrow the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team will continue to show what’s possible with diabetes on Stage 4 at the Tour of Poland with a 152.9-kilometer race that starts in Bukovina Resort and finishes in Bukovina Tatranska.
Photo Credit: Rene’ Vigneron