Sagan strikes in Cieszyn

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Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) scored an emphatic victory on stage four of the Tour de Pologne with a stunning acceleration on the final cobbled climb in Cieszyn.

The Slovak champion finished three seconds clear of 2010 overall winner Dan Martin (Garmin-Cervélo) to move into the overall lead. Italy's Marco Marcato (Vacansoleil) was third. Sagan’s Liquigas-Cannondale team took control of proceedings on the testing finishing circuit, and he repaid their faith by ripping clear of the reduced leading group on the final haul to the line.

“Today I had good legs and the team did great work for me,” Sagan said afterwards. “We had good hopes that a group could finish in a sprint together and it happened.”

Still only 21 years of age, Sagan belied his tender years by instantly opening a sizeable margin over a very select group of contenders. With all of 500 metres to go, it was already apparent that the real race was going to be for second place behind, as Sagan comfortably held his lead up the stiff cobbled climb and through the sharp final bend at the summit to seal an emphatic triumph.

A popular figure on the roadsides in Poland, Sagan admitted that he was not overly concerned about defending his overall lead all the way to the finish of the week-long stage race in Krakow on Sunday, explaining that he was at the race to fine-tune his form for the Vuelta a España.

“I'm not sure about keeping the leader's jersey until the end, because the next stages are pretty hard,” Sagan said. “I'll try, but if the rhythm is too high, I won't follow. I'm here mostly to prepare for the Vuelta."

While Sagan’s victory was hardly a surprise on a finale that many anticipated would favour riders of his powerful build, Dan Martin gave an indication of his form with a solid second-place finish. The Irishman is widely expected to shine later on in the week, but he was vigilant throughout the final lap of the circuit, and was assured in leading the rest of the front group home three seconds behind the rampant Sagan.

“The time bonus gave me a good position on GC but Sagan is going to be very difficult to beat,” Martin said at the finish. “I will take it day by day. It's nice to get a good result for the confidence, especially on a finish not really suited to me.”

Martin finished just ahead of Marcato, Paul Martens (Rabobank) and Fabian Wegmann (Leopard Trek), and moves up to fourth place overall, seven seconds down on Sagan.

Marcato’s strong showing means that he now lies in second place, and his teammate Romain Feillu is in third.

"Today was a good day for the team,” Feillu said. “Marcato secured a good position in GC and I did my best. The finish might have suited me because it was uphill but I was too light for the cobbles. Sagan is heavier than me. It was a perfect finish for him.”

Clarke’s bold bid

With the sting in the tail in the picturesque streets of Cieszyn in mind, riders were understandably reticent to commit to attacking early in the stage. The bunch stayed together on the road out of Oświęcim, and it wasn’t until Chad Beyer (BMC), Federico Rocchetti (De Rosa - Ceramica Flaminia) and Bartolomiej Matysiak (CCC Polsat Polkowic) forged clear at the beginning of the second hour of racing that the stage crackled into life.

That trio was joined shortly afterwards by Kamil Gradek (Poland), and together they built up a lead of seven minutes at the mid-way point of the stage. The combination of the increasingly rugged terrain and the stirring of the peloton behind meant that their advantage slowly began to melt as they drew closer to the finish, and after Matysiak took the points atop the double climbs of the Kubalonka, Beyer opted to try his luck alone.

The American was defending a 45-second lead on the approach to Cieszyn when Moldovan champion Alexandr Pliuschin (Katusha) stylishly closed the gap alone, and then duly dropped Beyer as soon as the road climbed upwards on the finishing circuit.

Pliuschin’s lone raid would soon be superseded by an even more impressive effort from Simon Clarke (Astana), as the Australian caught and passed him with 16km to go. While the peloton fractured into a number of small groups on the rough roads that made up the stage’s finale, Clarke did well to stay clear until the beginning of the final lap.

“I knew the sprinters teams were chasing me but I also thought the climbers would attack each other behind me and then not cooperate after the top of the climbs,” said Clarke of his sortie off the front. “So I tried every lap to do my best not to get caught on the climb. Unfortunately, I was one climb too short.”

On the final lap Liquigas-Cannondale took over the pace-making from Team Sky and Leopard Trek, and set about preparing a path for Sagan. After a brief rally from home rider Jaroslaw Marycz (Saxo Bank-Sungard) was snuffed out with five kilometres to go, Vincenzo Nibali himself came to the front and put in a fierce uphill acceleration that thinned out the front group.

Dan Martin was the first man up to the Sicilian’s shoulder and was well-positioned throughout the sinuous finale, with Peter Kennaugh (Team Sky), Enrico Gasparotto (Astana) and Fabian Wegmann (Leopard Trek) also keeping a close eye on proceedings on the approach to the finish.

In the end, however, they all had to give best to Sagan’s explosive surge over the cobbles. It was the Slovak’s ninth win of the year, and the dominant nature of this triumph suggested that there may yet be more to come before the season’s end.

Quite how far the precocious Sagan can go in this Tour de Pologne remains to be seen, however, with Romain Feillu warning that “there are better climbers than him in the bunch and some teams like Lampre and Gamin-Cervélo will try to drop him as soon as possible.”