Tinkoff-Saxo forfeited time in the general classification on stage 6 of Tour of Austria. Pawel Poljanski, who crashed on stage 5, started the day just 23 seconds off the lead but had to concede 2’50” finishing 12th on the final, 12 percent climb to Kitzbühler Horn. Team DS Bruno Cenghialta notes that the young talent was affected by the after effects of his crash in the last uphill battle. 

After the stage conclusion, Bruno Cenghialta, Tinkoff-Saxo sports director, tells that Kitzbühler Horn had set the scene for a flat-out battle.

“Today was not a very good day for us. It was the queen stage of the race with a very tough parcours. Pawel Poljanski, who was our best-placed rider in the GC was unfortunately lacking a bit on the final, very steep climb after his crash yesterday. We finished on the climb to Kitzbühler Horn with an average gradient of 12 percent and we saw a big selection among the favorites”, says Cenghialta.

“We were hoping that Pawel would recover fully, but he was still affected. The positive story today is that Jesper Hansen, who had a bad crash in Dauphiné, was in the breakaway and showed strong legs. He only had eight days on the bike before starting Tour of Austria and he proved that he has recovered well. We will continue to aim for the best results possible on the remaining stages and we will see how it goes tomorrow”, continues Cenghialta.

Victor de la Parte (Team Vorarlberg) took the stage win and the overall leadership, while Pawel Poljanski sits 9th in the GC with two stages to go.