The 23-year-old is fourth in the standings after a strong ride on Sunday.
The second day of the race was the longest one and got underway with Tim Merlier in the yellow jersey, but the stage one winner knew that by the end of the day he would lose the lead given the tough profile ahead and the hard summit finish, which this year came earlier than at the previous editions.
Soudal Quick-Step was very active from the beginning, as one of the teams to set the tempo in the peloton, while at the same time protecting Ilan Van Wilder. The Belgian – a top three finisher earlier this season at the Volta ao Algarve – didn’t disappoint on the steep gradients of the Karpacz climb, coming home just four seconds behind winner Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious), a result which elevated him to fourth in the classification.
On Monday, the peloton will take on another stage with lots of climbing, finishing in Zdroj, where the puncheurs will have a chance to go for victory.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
