Michal Kwiatkowski fought his way in the final meters of a bunch sprint to a 2nd place finish at Stage 1 of Tour de Pologne on Tuesday. Kwiatkowski, at the end of the 179km stage, kept up his power as the peloton chased Kolobnev (Katusha Team) going solo in the final kilometers. The peloton managed to catch the rider, and Michael Moser (Liquigas-Cannondale) won out for the victory, with Lars Boom (Rabobank) taking 3rd to Kwiatkowski.
Golas, who attacked late in the stage with several other riders but was caught, finished 9th.
"I was focused from the beginning of the race," Kwiatkowski said. "The stage was hard. It was the stage where you cannot win the GC, but you can lose everything. The downhill on the circuit was really technical and in the beginning the road was really slippery. In the final Golas and Styby were great in helping me. Michal attacked, then when he was caught they made the leadout for me. I was second, which is not bad for me. I have to thank them. I'm sad for Tom and Niki. They are really focused on the Olympics. I hope that this crash won't compromise their approach to London."
Injury Update
Niki Terpstra was forced to pull out from the race today because of a crash while descending. He was immediately transported to the hospital in Jelenia Gora. Niki was diagnosed with a wound on his left elbow, and a knee that required a few stitches. Niki was also submitted for X-rays to his left shoulder, elbow and knee. The X-rays seemed to exclude fractures. Niki has also a few bruises on the left part of his body and on his ankle. He will fly to Belgium where, in accordance with team medical staff, he will have further examination. More information will be released in the next days.
Tom Boonen also crashed on the descent, but was able to continue the race. After finishing the race he had X-rays done on the left side of his chest. His X-rays also excluded any fractures. He does have pain in his back because of the crash.
"We were on a downhill," Boonen said. "Brown crashed ten spots in front of us and Sabatini, who was behind him, panicked a little bit. He hit his brakes and he went on the ground. I went over him and I got caught up with his handlebars. Niki was on my wheel and he couldn't avoid the crash. Apparently I have no fracture, even if it is hard to breathe. I will try tomorrow, I hope everything will be fine. I have to go to the end to be ready for the Olympics."
"It was in a corner it was raining and slippery," Terpstra said. "They crashed in front of us. I tried to brake but I went straight. I jumped on the bike again but after five minutes I had to stop. There was too much pain. I'm really sad. In accordance with the team medical staff, tomorrow I will fly to Belgium and I will pass further medical checks. I really hope that I can train as soon as possible. I can say nothing more right now..."
