Tobias Nolde Takes Early Lead

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German rider Tobias Nolde from the Benotti Berthold team won the first stage of the 68th edition of the Tour of Mazovia cycling race on Wednesday in Teresin. After a sprint from a leading group of four, he finished ahead of Patryk Dąbski (LUKS Trójka Piaseczno) and Denmark’s Christian Albrechtsen (Ceramic Speed).

Thanks to the time bonus for the stage win, Nolde leads the general classification of the race. The points leader’s jersey was taken after the stage by Czech rider Simon Vanicek (ATT Investments), who won two intermediate sprints on the course, while in the under-23 youth classification, the best was Michał Pomorski (Mazowsze Serce Polski).

The flat, 160-kilometre stage on a circuit around Teresin was ridden at a very fast pace from the start. The peloton covered the successive laps at speeds exceeding 48 km/h, which made attacking difficult. The decisive move came only on the penultimate lap when a group of four broke away from the peloton. For about 30 kilometers, the quartet maintained an advantage of just under a minute, which shrank to just a few seconds before the finish. The peloton came close to catching them, but a large crash slowed the group and made things easier for the escapees, who fought for victory among themselves.

After the stage, Nolde admitted that the move was initiated by the Dane, and he himself joined the breakaway with some hesitation. When the gap increased, he committed fully to the effort.

“This is not my first race in Mazovia. I honestly don’t even remember exactly, but I think I’ve raced here four times. That makes me even happier to start this year’s edition with a win and taking the yellow jersey,” he said after the podium ceremony.

The four-stage race will finish on Saturday with a stage in Kozienice.

Results of the first stage:

  1. Tobias Nolde (Niemcy/Benotti Berthold) – 3:30.33
  2. Patryk Dąbski (LUKS Trójka Piaseczno)
  3. Christian Albrechtsen (Dania/Ceramic Speed)
  4. Marc Clauss(Niemcy/Standert Brandenburg) – all same time
  5. Simon Vanicek (Czechy/ATT Investments) – 9 seconds behind
  6. Eskil Huiting (Holandia/Metec-Solarwatt) – same time

General classification:

  1. Nolde – 3:30.21
  2. Dąbski – 3 seconds behind
  3. Albrechtsen – 8 seconds behind
  4. Clauss – 11 seconds behind
  5. Vanicek – 15 seconds behind
  6. Radosław Frątczak (Voster ATS) – 19 seconds behind