Boasson Hagen doubles up

Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Columbia-HTC) earned his second victory at the Tour of Poland on Friday after outsprinting his breakaway companions to the line in Zakopane. Race leader Alessandro Ballan (Lampre-NGC) finished second on the stage, retaining his yellow jersey, while compatriot Marco Marcato (Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team) rounded out the top three.

Boasson Hagen and Ballan were part of a 21-rider attack at km 120 of the 162.2-kilometre stage. The Ballan group absorbed the day's early break and pressed onwards to the finish, ultimately building an eight-minute advantage over the field.

"Having Michael [Albasini] in the break in the first part of the stage made a big difference," Boasson Hagen said. "Once I got in a late move I could take advantage of all his good work from before. The final sprint was just the kind I like, as well - slightly uphill. I just waited for [race leader] Alessandro Ballan to go for it, then went past him."

Boasson Hagen said the slightly different terrain in the Tour of Poland's second hilly stage worked to his advantage.

"The climbs today were longer and steadier than on Thursday and they suited me better, so I got to the finish feeling good and in a good position. The tactics weren't that complicated. It was really a question of waiting and watching my rivals right up until the last possible moment, then going for it in the sprint."

The early break formed after the stage's first KOM as nine riders went clear including Marek Rutkiewicz, Jacek Morajko (Team Poland Bank BGZ), Tadej Valjavec (AG2R La Mondiale), Michael Albasini (Team Columbia-HTC), Marco Marcato (Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team), David Loosli (Lampre-NGC), Vasili Kiryienka (Caisse d'Epargne), Matthias Russ (Team Milram) and Bartosz Huzarski (ISD).

The break soon gained a one minute advantage over the peloton and despite their hard efforts to build a lead, their maximum advantage never grew beyond 2:30. The presence of Rutkiewicz, who started the day in fifth on general classification only 10 seconds behind Ballan, ensured that Ballan's team would keep the break under control.

In addition to making his intentions known about taking over general classification, Rutkiewicz also began to take advantage of the day's 10 category one climbs on offer as he scored points in nine of 10 climbs, including maximum points on seven different occasion. Rutkiewicz accumulated 92 mountain classification points in this single stage to take an insurmountable 41-point lead. Barring a calamitous incident on tomorrow's final stage, Rutkiewicz wrapped up the KOM classification.

The peloton gradually began to eat into the break's advantage and when the deficit was reduced to 1:10 a large group of 21 riders moved clear of the field in pursuit of the break. The chase group consisted of Maxim Iglinsky (Astana), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Columbia-HTC), Francesco Reda (Quick Step), Alessandro Ballan, Marzio Bruseghin and Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre-NGC), Ivan Basso, Sylvester Szmyd and Oliver Zaugg (Liquigas), Pieter Weening (Rabobank), Andrei Amador Bipkazacova, Anthony Charteau, Pablo Lastras, David Lopez Garcia and Daniel Moreno (Caisse d'Epargne), Markel Irizar (Euskaltel - Euskadi), Daniel Martin and Christian Meier (Garmin - Slipstream), Fredrik Kessiakoff (Fuji-Servetto), and Johnny Hoogerland and Sergey Lagutin (Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team).

Once the chase group absorbed the early break, Marek Rutkiewicz began to attack, hoping to once again to put at least 10 seconds between himself and Ballan, but his efforts were negated. The lead group now contained eight other riders in the top 10 on general classification and they were not willing to let the Pole ride away with the race leadership.

Boasson Hagen proved too powerful for Ballan in the sprint for stage honours, but the Italian world champion remained in yellow with a 10-second lead over Daniel Moreno (Caisse d'Epargne) and an 11-second advantage over Boasson Hagen.

The riders face the Tour of Poland's final stage tomorrow as the peloton makes the 136.5-kilometre trek from Rabka Zdrój to Kraków.

Saturday's final stage of the Tour of Poland is likely to end in a bunch sprint. While Boasson Hagen recognises opportunities of beating Ballan for overall victory are likely to be slim, he doesn't rule it out completely. "I'll have a talk with [directeur sportif] Tristan [Hoffman] tonight and we'll go over the stage, although I think it will be very hard to beat Ballan. But if there's a chance, you can be sure we'll take it."