Mixed feelings after neutralization in Poland, but injuries to leader Lapeira and Baroncini reveal how severe the crash was

For those who missed it on Wednesday afternoon, things went badly wrong in the final of the third stage of the Tour of Poland. A crash sent several riders into the ditch. Among them was yellow jersey wearer Lapeira, who appeared to be in a lot of pain. The organization decided shortly afterwards to neutralize the race.

At that point, there were three riders in the lead with a lead of more than a minute. After the neutralization, it was decided to resume the race, but the times would not be recorded at the finish. That would mean that if Lapeira finished the stage, he would keep his leader's jersey.

However, during the race, it was reported that Lapeira would not make it to the finish. This would mean that the leader's jersey would go to the number two in the classification, Vacek. However, he had also crashed, and there would be no finish for the Czech either. Victor Langelotti (INEOS Grenadiers) was next in line, but in the end it was Lapeira who got to wear the leader's jersey on Thursday. The Frenchman had apparently finished after all, albeit well behind stage winner Ben Turner (INEOS Grenadiers).

It was a pretty chaotic day, and it remained to be seen how bad the damage would be. Lapeira's team provided an update later on Wednesday via X. "Following his crash, Lapeira has sustained multiple abrasions and minor cracks in two ribs. The general classification times were neutralized, so Paul retains the leader's jersey and will be at the start of the fourth stage tomorrow," said Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale. His teammate Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen is not doing so well: he had to leave the race with a broken collarbone.

For Vacek, the diagnosis was also much less favorable. “Sadly, Mathias Vacek did not finish Stage 3 due to the large crash,” Lidl-Trek announced on X. “He is being taken to hospital as his lip requires some stitches and he showed signs of concussion so will be checked by doctors. Other than that, he is ok.”

Visma | Lease a Bike was not involved in the crash. Huising saw that ‘everything looked perfect’. 'It was a very tough stage and Matthew and I were still in a good position. If we survived one more climb, I could support Matthew to fight for the stage win. Unfortunately, a serious crash occured. Let me start by saying that I think it was the right decision to neutralise the race, because safety comes first," the Dutchman said in a press release.

Nevertheless, Huising was left with a somewhat bitter aftertaste. "The only unfortunate thing is that a group of about thirty riders were able to return to the peloton, even though they had already been dropped. We had pushed hard to get there, and they got back “for free”. Ultimately, we were the ones who suffered as a result. It's very disappointing right now, but all in all, we can be satisfied that we were in such a small group as two neopros," said Huising, referring to Brennan and himself.

For a long time, it was unclear why the race was stopped. Race director Czeslaw Lang later explained the situation. “All of our medical vehicles stopped to assist those injured,” the Pole said in a press release.

“We decided to neutralize the race and stop the peloton to avoid further risks. Once the situation was under control and the ambulances were back on the course, the peloton was able to continue.” The rest of the race was completed without time differences. The race director did not further explain that decision.