Jonas Vingegaard Hansen is the new leader of the Tour de Pologne after finishing second in the 15.4-km time trial, leaping over Thibau Nys in the general classification. Tim Wellens took the win.
The Stage 2 time trial, from Mysłakowice to Karpacz, included a tough climb after a flat initial segment. Filip Maciejuk set an early benchmark with a time of 25’15”, but Romain Bardet surpassed him by 14 seconds. Vingegaard finished just nine seconds behind Wellens, gaining a significant advantage over his rivals and taking the leader’s jersey from Nys, who fell over three minutes behind Wellens.
Jonas Vingegaard is now a Hansen and I for one, very much approve
In the updated standings, Vingegaard leads with teammate Kelderman 24 seconds behind. Diego Ulissi is in third place, 25 seconds back, with Romain Grégoire and Magnus Sheffield completing the top five.
The Dane’s long road to recovery
Vingegaard had a roller coaster of a season, to say the least. After a strong spring, he suffered a severe crash at the Tour of Basque Country, involving Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel, but his injuries were the most severe. “I was in a lot of pain—not just in my ribs but internally. I could feel it was from my lung, and when I coughed up blood, I knew it was serious. I was taken to the hospital, where they first checked my collapsed lung,” he said. “They put in a drain that evening, which remained in place for eight days. Additionally, I had several broken bones.”
After 12 days in the hospital, Vingegaard began a long recovery process, including extensive rehabilitation and gradual training. It was uncertain if he would compete in the Tour de France until just a week before the race. Despite not participating in any lead-up events, he performed well, finishing second overall behind Tadej Pogačar. He also won Stage 11, which made for an emotional day for him.
“It’s of course very emotional for me. Coming back from the crash,” he said after the race, teary-eyed. “All the things I went through, in the last three months. This means a lot.”
Now, the Dane is back in familiar territory wearing a yellow jersey. There are five stages remaining in the Tour of Poland.
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