After the initial undulating mountain stages in the Dolomites the general classification is no longer a theme for German Team NetApp-Endura in the Tour de Pologne.

On Sunday’s queen stage with a summit finish atop the Passo Pordoi, Leopold König, carrying the team’s classification aspirations on his shoulders, cracked and crossed the finish line almost half an hour after stage winner Christophe Riblon (AG2R).

In addition, his Polish teammate, Bartosz Huzarski, had to surrender his KOM jersey, gaining the jersey for most competitive rider as a small consolation.

As the race relocated from Italy to Poland, Team NetApp-Endura Sports Director Ralph Denk was at a loss to explain König’s unexpected loss of time.

“Unfortunately Leo didn’t make it into the group of favourites,” Denk told German press agency dpa. “We will have to look at the causes for this upset and subsequently we will have to adjust our strategy according to the new general classification.”

Paul Voss is currently the best placed NetApp-Endura rider at 34th, 11’15” behind race leader Rafal Majka (Saxo-Tinkoff).

“Obviously, we are out of contention for the overall win and so we have to focus on a stage win,” Denk added.

After Monday’s transfer day from Italy to Poland, the Tour de Pologne resumes on Tuesday with the longest stage in the race, which should end in a sprint decision despite a 3rd category climb along the parcours.