Having crashed in stage 1, Luka Mezgec got close to the elusive stage victory in stage 3 of the Tour de Pologne but had to settle for second behind a strong Theo Bos. However, the Slovenian had broken his derailleur in the finale which meant that he couldn't use his preferred gear for the sprint.

Luka Mezgec showed no signs of any damage done in his heavy fall on stage one as he sprinted to second on today’s third stage of the Tour of Poland. He benefited from a strong lead-out from the team in the final kilometres, as they stayed cool, avoided a late pile-up in the peloton and delivered Mezgec in a good position to launch his sprint.

Mezgec led with around 100m to go but as the line approached he slipped back into second with Theo Bos (Belkin Pro Cycling) proving fastest.

The riders had to negotiate a fallen inflatable in the road and late crash in the final kilometres but nothing was stopping the impending bunch kick. The team took to the head of the peloton with three kilometres to go but they, as with all other teams, struggled to take control of the peloton. It wasn’t until the final 1500m where they got the lead-out sorted and Ramon Sinkeldam led through the final 500m to launch Mezfec with just over 200 to go.

Mezgec looked like he had done enough to hold off the other sprinters but a late surge from Bos saw him come past before the line to deny Mezgec his sixth victory of the season. After the stage it emerged that a collision in the final kilometre bent Mezgec’s rear derailleur and as a result limited his use of gear selection.

After the stage Team Giant-Shimano coach Addy Engels said: “It was a good day for us today. The speed was good behind the break and we joined the chase with Thierry [Hupond] after the feed zone. He did a good job and then in the final stages the plan was to have Nikias [Arndt] and Ramon [Sinkeldam] lead out Luka.

“The finish was pretty hectic but the guys managed to find each other in the final kilometres and did a good lead-out. Unfortunately Luka’s sprint was hampered after a contact with his gears in the final kilometres but he still did a strong sprint regardless and we can look forward to  another opportunity tomorrow.”

Mezgec added: “It was nice and controlled today which was good as during the stage I still have some pain in my hand and my arm, but then at the finish I forget about the pain.

“The teamwork was really good today and just as we discussed before the stage. At the finish it was really hard to stick together with all the corners and then the crash, but we came back together for the lead-out.

“In the crash with just over a k to go someone hit my derailleur so I couldn’t sprint in the 11, but I am happy with this result and it is good to be back in the front. My level is higher than this time last year and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Road captain, Johannes Fröhlinger gave his verdict on the stage, saying: “Compared to the last few days it was quite a fast stage today, but also very controlled as there was much more collaboration in the peloton. This meant that we were pretty sure of a bunch sprint at the end.

“The finishing circuit was technical and it made it hard to stay together. We lost each other a few times but in the end it worked out and the guys did a good lead-out at the end.

“Me personally I am happy with how my shape is after a long break following the nationals. I am building up for the last part of the season and this is a good race to get back into shape with these early flatter stages to find the rhythm again.”