Simon Vanicek Takes the Lead

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Czech rider Simon Vanicek from ATT Investments won the second stage of the Tour of Mazovia in Grodzisk Mazowiecki and took over the leader’s jersey. He was undoubtedly the hero of the stage—winning two intermediate sprints and triumphing at the finish line, which earned him a total of 16 bonus seconds and propelled him into first place overall.

The stage route ran through the area around the city, with eight laps of over 20 kilometers each, making up a distance of more than 164 km. Favorable weather meant the pace was strong from the start, and numerous breakaway attempts were unsuccessful. At the front of the peloton, the group of Tobias Nolde (Benotti Berthold), who was wearing the yellow jersey, worked hard to control the race.

On the laps with intermediate sprints, however, ATT riders with Vanicek came to the fore, with Vanicek twice being the fastest, collecting points and valuable bonus seconds.

It wasn’t until two laps from the finish that two Polish riders—Konrad Waliniak (Voster ATS) and Kacper Majewski (Monogo Lunelskie Perła Polski)—managed to break away from the peloton. Working well together, they gained nearly a two-minute advantage, which was still about 50 seconds at the finish of the penultimate lap.

However, the large group proved ruthless for the tired escapees, and the entire peloton reached the final straight, where once again Vanicek was the fastest in the sprint. Right behind him were two Dutchmen—Roy Hoogendoorn (Metec-Solarwatt) and Lars Rouffaer (Diftar). Thanks to his bonus seconds, Rouffaer took the lead in the youth (U23) classification. Vanicek, meanwhile, received both the yellow leader’s jersey and the green sprinter’s jersey on the podium.

The trophies and awards were presented to the winners by two-time Olympic medalist Luiza Złotkowska, along with representatives of the city authorities. She admitted that early in her sports career she used to compete in cycling for a club from Grodzisk, but now she only rides recreationally. “I had the opportunity to ride three laps in one of the technical cars and I am very impressed, both by the level of the riders and the masterful skills of the drivers in the race convoy. They could easily compete in races themselves,” she said during the award ceremony.

Results of the second stage (Grodzisk Maz. – Grodzisk Maz. 164 km):

  1. Simon Vanicek (Czech Republic/ATT Investments) – 3:28:00
  2. Roy Hoogendoorn (Netherlands/Metec-Solarwatt)
  3. Lars Rouffaer (Netherlands/Diftar)
  4. Matteo Bessegio (Italy/S.C. Padovani)
  5. Norbert Banaszek (ATT Investments)
  6. Tomas Barta (Czech Republic/Epronex) – all same time

General classification:

  1. Vanicek – 6:58:20
  2. Tobias Nolde (Germany/Benotti Berthold) – 1 second behind
  3. Patryk Dąbski (LUKS Trójka Piaseczno) – 4 seconds behind
  4. Christian Albrechtsen (Denmark/Ceramic Speed) – 9 seconds behind
  5. Marc Clauss (Germany/Standert Brandenburg) – 12 seconds behind
  6. Roy Hoogendoor