While no one was really expecting it yet, Nys arrives like a jack-in-the-box for stage three in Poland

After two flat stages, it was time again for a mountain stage on the Tour of Poland. And what a mountain stage it was! Saturday's stage was the queen stage, traditionally arriving at Bukovina Resort. They had to overcome a three-kilometer road at an average of eight percent to get there, while several hills would loom before that. Numerous eyes were, therefore, on Vingegaard.

It took a while, but after a while, three riders managed to break away from the pack on the hilly terrain in southeastern Poland: Silvan Dillier (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Samuele Battistella (Astana Qazaqstan Team) and Davide Formolo (Movistar). Three strong riders, and so there was cause for alertness in the peloton. However, From the peloton, there was even more animosity to be at the front, so four gentlemen decided to push forward. Tobias Foss (INEOS Grenadiers), Mick van Dijke (Visma | Lease a Bike), Archie Ryan (EF Education-EasyPost), and Tim Wellens (UAE-Team Emirates) gloriously succeeded in that mission.

Despite the great strength of the leading group, it did not last long. At one point, Ryan thought it was enough and decided to take off while the other leaders were caught. However, the young Irishman held his own against the chasing pack, where someone else was pulling through.

At five kilometers from the finish, Ryan still had a 20-second lead. That sounded good, but uphill, that's only peanuts. So, his effort was also at two kilometers from the finish line. And that's probably why a GC rider took the win. Or was there a puncheur who could cause havoc? It didn't look like it...

Romain Bardet, in particular, was racing among the favorites, serving Oscar Onley. However, that seemed a little too early. After that, it was especially Kelderman who seemed valuable, serving yellow jersey Vingegaard, who, however, did not continue his attack. Tudor man Yannis Voisard tried with a late attack, but that too failed. But wait... Who did we suddenly see back there? Nys! Surely this couldn't be true? In the last few hundred meters, the young Fleming advanced little by little - on willpower! - only to "easily" win the uphill sprint again. What. A. Rider. His third! Vingegaard stayed in possession of the leader's jersey.