Vini Fantini’s Eduard Grosu wins in Ciężkowice
Eduard Grosu (Vini-Fantini-Nippo) sprinted to victory in stage 5 of Carpathian Couriers Race. 21-year-old was the first to cross the finish line on an uphill finish in Ciężkowice, distancing Belarus’ Nikolai Shumov and Erik Baska (Dukla Trencin Trek
Austrian Gregor Muhlberger (Tirol) retained leader’s jersey, however, the fight for general classification is not over, as today’s winner is only 14 seconds behind. Przemysław Kasperkiewicz (Bauknecht-Author) is third, 38 seconds down, closely followed by Koen Bouwman (Jo Piels).
Six climbs and an uphill finish were waiting for young riders in Poland. Fifth day started dry and cold, as the peloton set off from Niedzica. Sightseeing trip to the nearby medieval castle was not in plan, because from the very first kilometers, participants were facing steep mountain roads.
Despite several strong attacks, no break managed to stay away in the first 25 kilometers. Cycling Team Jo Piels was leading the pack, hoping to help mountains classification leader – Koen Bouwman. Dutchman took the point on the first climb of the day, but failed to follow Patryk Stosz (TC Chrobry Głogów) on the next three ascents and lost the jersey.
After 32 km Elmar Reinders (Cycling Team Jo Piels), Dominik Chlupac (Czech Republic National Team), Julien Kaise (Color Code Biowanze), Carl Soballa (LKT Brandenburg), Piotr Brożyna (Telcom Gimex), Florent Kretschy (KED Stevens Team Berlin) managed to establish a gap of 40 seconds, forming the first breakaway of the day. Their adventure at front did not last long, as they were soon brought back on the ascent of Ostra, where climbers fought for pink jersey. Short descent led the group to a shorter, but steeper, climb of Pogorzelisko. Stosz took the points for the second time and became the virtual leader of climbers classification.
The group stayed together, although there were many riders eying the breakaway. Next group emerged as the pack entered final 30 kilometers – Joey van Rhee, Elmar Reinders (Jo Piels), Oleksii Kasianov (Kiev Regional Team), Florian Schipflinger (Tirol), Antoine Warnier (Color Code Biowanze), Carl Soballa (LKT Brandenburg), Yuma Koishi (Vini-Fantini-Nippo), Frantisek Sisr (Czech Republic National Team), Tomasz Mickiewicz (Polish National Team) and Joren Touquet (Wallonian National Team) broke clear and started working together, hoping to reach finish town before the bunch.
10 attackers managed to gain some ground, benefiting from temporary confusion over the chase in the peloton. Finally, Bauknecht-Author riders took the responsibility and started setting the pace, together with other teams bringing the leading group back just before entering Ciężkowice.
Last kilometer was an uphill finish, leading to medieval main square of this small town. Steep ramps, with gradient reaching 15%, made it hard for exhausted riders. The group split, as Przemysław Kasperkiewicz opened up a sprint with 400 meters to go. Young Pole was chasing bonus seconds at the finish, but lacked in power and was distanced by sprinters sitting on his wheel. Once again Vini-Fanitni-Nippo’s Eduard Grosu proved that he is one of the strongest in the competition, outperforming rivals by 2 seconds and picking bonus seconds at the finish line.
Patryk Stosz leads mountains classification and will be trying to win it for the second consecutive time. Amaury Capiot wears points classification jersey, while Cycling Team Jo Piels distances rivals in team standings.
Results:
1. Eduard Grosu (Vini-Fantini-Nippo) 3:31:03
2. Nikolai Shumov (Belarussian National Team) 00:02
3. Erik Baska (Dukla Trencin Trek)
4. Daniel McLay (Lotto-Belisol U23)
5. Willi Willwohl (LKT Brandenburg)
6. Amaury Capiot (Lotto-Belisol U23)
7. Andrea Meggiorini (Delio Gallina)
8. Przemysław Kasperkiewicz (Bauknecht Author)
9. Jerome Kerf (Color Code Biowanze)
10. Vasyl Malynivskyi (Ukrainian National Team)
General classification after stage 5:
1. Gregor Muhlberger (Tirol) 12:31:12
2. Eduard Grosu (Vini-Fantini-Nippo) 00:14
3. Przemysław Kasperkiewicz (Bauknecht Author) 00:38
4. Koen Bouwman (Jo Piels) 00:40
5. Jochem Hoekstra (Jo Piels) 01:06
6. Jean-Albert Carnevali (Wallonian National Team) 01:13
7. Antoine Warnier (Color Code Biowanze)
8. Daniel Turek (Czech Republic National Team) 01:27
9. Bartosz Warchoł (TKK Pacific Toruń) 01:31
10. Szymon Rekita (Polish National Team) 01:38
