Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates) has won stage 4 at Tour de Pologne. It was a day when some of the sprinters - including Ireland's Sam Bennett - did not survive the climbs, though others coped better and were in contention for the victory at the end of the stage.
The day-long breakaway, and counter attackers, were swept up on the run in to the finish in Sanok after 179.4km of racing. Zdeněk Štybar (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) then made an impressive solo bid for victory in the final 2km and while he built a gap of almost 10 seconds, an incline inside the final 200 metres saw him run out of legs and be swept up by the bunch behind.
UAE Team Emirates executed their lead-out perfectly, with Ackermann then having the legs to take what was just his second win of the season. He was just ahead of Jordi Meeus, the second-year Bora-hansgrohe pro who turned 24 years old last month and is sprinting well, having also taken 3rd on the opening stage in Poland. Jonathan Milan (Bahrain-Victorious) was 3rd today.
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While Bora-hansgrohe went close to a stage win today, its winner from yesterday and race leader - Sergio Higuita - was involved in a crash in the final 2km today. However, the Colombian remounted and finished, keeping his race lead as he lost no time due to crashing inside the 3km to go marker.
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Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe) was one of the fast men who lost contact today on the climbs. He eventually finished in a group at 12:38 with compatriot and lead-out man Ryan Mullen. The race continues tomorrow with a lumpy 178.1km stage from Łańcut to Rzeszów.
