Four successive podium results in Poland

After the win by Phil Bauhaus in the opening stage, Team Bahrain Victorious continued to show great form at the Tour de Pologne. The riders in red and black got one more podium result by Phil Bauhaus and three podium results by Matej Mohoric. Today's individual time trial will be decisive for the general classification. At the same time the Vuelta a España starts in Burgos, and Team Bahrain Victorious is heading into this race with high ambitions and a very strong line-up of riders.

The Tour de Pologne started very promisingly for Team Bahrain Victorious, as Phil Bauhaus showed that he was the fastest sprinter in the peloton in the bunch sprint. On the next day, the stage ended with a climb that was not very long but all the more steep. In the end, Matej Mohoric finished in 3rd place, only beaten by Joao Almeida and Diego Ulissi. The third stage came down to a bunch sprint again. Since Heinrich Haussler had been forced out of the race with sciatic issues, Phil Bauhaus had to do without his trusted lead-out rider. As a consequence Bauhaus timed his sprint a tad too early and got passed by Fernando Gaviria and Olav Kooij to cross the finish line in 3rd. As for the general classification, there were no significant margins yet.

The two stages in Southern Poland's Tatra foothills were supposed to properly shape the overall standings, but instead, the fight for seconds and bonifications continued at high intensity. At the end of the fourth stage, twenty-one riders sprinted for the win, and Matej Mohoric only was bested by Joao Almeida to finish in 2nd. The fifth stage again was decided in a sprint of a reduced group of pre-race favourites, and again it was Matej Mohoric who contested the sprint for Team Bahrain Victorious. Slovenia's national champion opted for the right side of the street, rode a strong sprint and still «only» finished in 2nd, narrowly beaten in a photo finish by Germany's Nikias Arndt. Five stages into the Tour de Pologne, there are still 21 riders separated by less than one minute in the overall standings.

While the general classification of the Tour de Pologne is likely to be decided in today's individual time trial in Katowice, the Vuelta a España starts about 2000 kilometres further to the Southwest with a short individual time trial through the city of Burgos. Team Bahrain Victorious is heading into the third Grand Tour of the season with a very strong line-up: As the designated captain for the overall, Mikel Landa is taking aim at a podium spot in Madrid - and why not go for the top step? On his way to Madrid, Landa can rely on the support of Yukiya Arashiro, Damiano Caruso, Jack Haig, Gino Mäder, Mark Padun, Wout Poels and Jan Tratnik. Apart from flat sprint stages, the riders in red and black will be competing for the win in many stages - and who knows: maybe even in the general classification.

Since the leader's jersey of the Vuelta is all red and to promote general awareness for health issues such as obesity and diabetes, Team Bahrain Victorious will be competing in special jerseys throughout the next three weeks. This jersey has been designed in cooperation with the team's bike wear supplier Alé Cycling and will be available online in limited numbers. To get fans involved and active, the team is calling for 30 minutes of daily activity as part of the «BVictorious30» challenge. All those who track their activities on Strava can become part of the team's Strava club and win nice prizes each week.

78TH TOUR DE POLOGNE, STAGE 2: ZAMOSC - PRZEMYSL, 200.8KM
1. Joao Almeida, POR, in 4:41.33 hours
2. Diego Ulissi, ITA, st
3. Matej Mohoric, SLO/TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS, st

STAGE 3: SANOK - RZESZOW, 226.4KM
1. Fernando Gaviria, COL, in 5:18.15 hours
2. Olav Kooij, NED, st
3. Phil Bauhaus, GER/TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS, st

STAGE 4: TARNOW - BUKOVINA RESORT, 159.9KM
1. Joao Almeida, POR, in 3:51.32 hours
2. Matej Mohoric, SLO/TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS, st
3. Andrea Vendrame, ITA, st

STAGE 5: CHOCHOLOW - BIELSKO-BIALA, 172.8KM
1. Nikias Arndt, GER, in 4:02.20 hours
2. Matej Mohoric, SLO/TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS, st
3. Stefano Oldani, ITA, st