Pawel Poljanski gritted his teeth and went for the win on the final climb of stage 13 at Vuelta a España. Against the remaining 23 riders in the breakaway, Poljanski, however, was caught but took the prize as the most aggressive rider for his effort. Noting that he felt strong, Poljanski looks ahead to the mountains and riding in support of captain Rafal Majka, who retains 4th overall.

Finishing 12th in the big breakaway behind stage winner Nelson Oliveira, Pawel Poljanski comments that he is content with his sensations on the stage.

“I’m satisfied with how I felt today. I think my shape was good and I knew I had to try something, since the group was so big. Originally, it wasn’t planned that I should seek the breakaway but stay in the peloton. But when the big group went I was at the front of the bunch and I asked if I should go to make sure that the team had a rider in the breakaway. The sports directors agreed and told me to go and in the end the breakaway made it to the finish line”, says Poljanski before adding about his attack on the final category 3 climbs:

“I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t get something more out of my shape today. With more than 24 guys in a group, you have to be really fast to win the sprint and I’m not a sprinter. So I went on the final climb but it wasn’t steep enough. In the moment, where I attacked I felt very good and I knew I had to try on the climb. I got a good gap but the group didn’t split up and they worked together to catch me again. I got the combativity award but I’ll try to go for something more, if I get the chance again. We still have some very, very important days and our big goal is to support Rafal. I think he is getting better and better and I hope that I will have the same legs to help him, as I had today”.

Stage 13 from Calatayud to Tarazona consisted of 178 undulating kilometers with three categorized climbs making the day ideal for the breakaway. Tristan Hoffman, Tinkoff-Saxo sports director, tells that the team took a quick decision to position Poljanski in the front break.

“Pawel did very well today. We took a decision to send him in the breakaway, when we saw that the group would be big. For us, it was important to have a guy up there – to show the team colors, to go for the stage and to have a rider at the front of the race, if the stage took an unpredictable turn. We had three categorized climbs and a crazy and very fast start, so it was better that Poljanski went instead of bigger riders like Bennati and Bodnar”, says Hoffman before finishing:

“Pawel obviously attacked in the right moment, where the race was hardest and where he could make a difference. He got away, then he was caught by a promising group but some kilometers after it all came back together and Oliveira attacked. He made it to the finish line and was naturally strong but it could just as well have been Pawel that had gotten away. The stage was very fast in the beginning, so it was not a day, where we could save energy. But it is very positive to see that Pawel is strong, as he will be very important for Rafal already tomorrow, where we have another tough mountain finish”.