Tour de Pologne 2023 – Stage 6 (ITT)

A flat time trial.

Route

Quite similar to the time trial here in 2021. On that day, Almeida took 18 seconds on Mohoric.

Weather

Around 17 degrees C and a chance of rain for all riders.

Contenders

Mohoric – It will have to be his best time trial to date keeping the jersey. He will fight with tooth and nail, unfortunately, I doubt it is enough.

Almeida – twelve seconds behind now. It is his race to lose. I think he moves into the lead tomorrow and he might even finish on the podium.

Kwiatkowski – he was 5th here back in 2021, just five seconds slower than Almeida. I’m not sure how he will do tomorrow, but given the way he has been going this week, I hope to see him finish in the top-3 overall.

Cattaneo – usually goes quite well against the clock when in form. A top-10 is very likely.

McNulty – caught behind the crash today, he didn’t seem to go down or get hurt. A top-10.

Van Wilder – crashed today, which makes it hard for him to reach the podium. Riding with bandages slow you down. He should be a contender for the top-10 anyhow, the legs are good.

Foss – saving himself for this one. I still can’t get my head around he won Worlds last year. Nonetheless, he should start tomorrow as one of the favorites.

Bissegger – usually, he is not much of a climber but today he was at the front near the very end. The legs are good and Worlds is just a week away. The length is a slight concern, but with Worlds close, he should manage.

Arensman – form is good. He did a lot of work today, maybe leaving him a bit tired for tomorrow. He should still compete for a top-10.

Thomas – it is not for certain he puts in a good time as this is not a Grand Tour. I still hope to see him put in a good performance before Worlds.

Stars

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Foss
⭐⭐⭐ Almeida, Bissegger
⭐⭐ Thomas, McNulty, Cattaneo
⭐ Van Wilder, Mohoric, Arensman, Kwiatkowski

Who will win?

Time to put those stripes to good use before he likely hands it over. A win for Tobias Foss.