Kathrin Schweinberger started the three-day Tour de Pologne Women stage race with a bang, scoring third place in the opening day bunch sprint.
A second place in the intermediate sprint, as well as bonus seconds at the finish, means the Austrian national champion is third on the general classification after the 105.7 km stage around Zamosc, tied on time with second.
“It was great to have a chance and be a part of the sprint,” Schweinberger said of her third place. “We are really motivated, happy to race here and want to push for more now.”
Racing on big roads and as four, the team took a backseat with ten kilometers to race, relaxing and biding their time for the final five kilometers.
“We moved up with Wiktoria [Pikulik] through a good pull,” explains the 28-year-old. “Then it was Silvia [Zanardi] and me, and we were flexible. We followed some wheels, led out ourselves, but constantly stayed together because we have a big trust in one another.”
Zanardi delivered Schweinberger into a roundabout with 400 meters to race, where Schweinberger found the lead out of UAE Team ADQ, piggybacked off their move and then launched her sprint against Clara Copponi (Lidl – Trek) and stage winner Chiara Consonni (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto).
“It was not enough for first place, but I’m feeling good in my legs, so let’s see what’s possible,” says Schweinberger. “When you come back from altitude, you always have to get used to the bunch again, but we managed to stay out of trouble, Yurani was super active all day with Silvia and Wiktoria guiding me well too.”
Earlier in the stage, climber Yurani Blanco went on the offensive in two breakaways on the road to the intermediate sprint in the hunt for bonus time.
“In the end, you never know what would have happened had the break got a big gap,” exclaims Schweinberger. “It’s our mentality. We try, try and try even in a team of four.”
Schweinberger will take a confidence boost going into the next stages, having proved that she does indeed “race happy” in her Pactimo Flyte national champions jersey.
“There is a lot of positivity to take from this result,” she says. “I’m motivated, and we will go all-in tomorrow with Silvia and me again in the finale. I like the look of the slightly uphill finish tomorrow.”
Stage 2 is 100 km to and from Chelm. With a 500-meter ramp up onto a cobbled street, the finale will suit powerhouse sprinters.
Photos: GettySport
Tour de Pologne Women stage 1 results
1 CONSONNI Chiara – CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto 2:27:09
2 COPPONI Clara – Lidl – Trek ”
3 SCHWEINBERGER Kathrin – Human Powered Health ”
4 RYSZ Kaja – Poland ”
5 LE NET Marie – FDJ – SUEZ ”
General Classification after stage 1
1 CONSONNI Chiara – CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto 2:26:56
2 COPPONI Clara – Lidl – Trek 0:07
3 SCHWEINBERGER Kathrin – Human Powered Health ”
4 ZANETTI Linda – Uno-X Mobility 0:12
5 RYSZ Kaja – Poland 0:17
