Ballan wins fifth stage in Poland

Eurosport - Thu, 06 Aug 20:55:00 2009

Italy's Alessandro Ballan, of the Lampre team, won a sprint finish for the fifth stage of the Tour of Poland under the rain.

CYCLING 2009 Alessandro Ballan (Lampre) - 0

Ballan's success on the 163km stage from Strzyzow to Krynica Zdroj also gave him possession of the race leader's yellow jersey.

The world champion finished ahead of Spaniard Daniel Moreno and Dutch rider Pieter Weening, who are second and third in the overall standings respectively.

"I promised to fight in the Tour of Poland and I kept my word," said Ballan after crossing the finish line in a bunched sprint.

"Until now I've ridden quietly in the peloton but in the mountains it will be time to attack and really fight," he added ahead of Friday's 162.2km sixth stage which will be in the mountains from Kroscienko to Zakopane.

Result and standings after the 163 km fifth stage of the Tour of Poland from Strzyzow to Krynica.

1. Alessandro Ballan (Italy / Lampre ) 3hrs 48mins 23secs"

2. Daniel Moreno (Spain / Caisse d'Epargne ) ST

3. Pieter Weening (Netherlands / Rabobank )

4. Francesco Reda (Italy / Quick-Step )

5. Marek Rutkiewicz (Poland / DHL )

6. Sylwester Szmyd (Poland / Liquigas )

7. Marco Marcato (Italy / Vacansoleil ) +15"

8. Francesco Gavazzi (Italy / Lampre )

9. Mauricio Ardila (Colombia / Rabobank )

10. Daniel Martin (Ireland / Garmin )

11. Denys Kostyuk (Ukraine / Team ISD )

12. Bram Tankink (Netherlands / Rabobank )

13. Juergen Roelandts (Belgium / Silence - Lotto )

14. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway / Columbia )

15. Jurgen Van Goolen (Belgium / Saxo Bank )

16. Oliver Zaugg (Switzerland / Liquigas )

17. Jesus Del Nero (Spain / Fuji )

18. David Loosli (Switzerland / Lampre )

19. Aitor Galdos (Spain / Euskaltel )

20. Bartosz Huzarski (Poland / Team ISD )

21. Pablo Lastras (Spain / Caisse d'Epargne )

22. Andriy Grivko (Ukraine / Team ISD )

23. Kevin De Weert (Belgium / Quick-Step )

24. Sergey Lagutin (Uzbekistan / Vacansoleil )

25. Jacek Morajko (Poland / Mroz )

26. Nick Nuyens (Belgium / Rabobank )

27. Andrey Amador (Costa Rica / Caisse d'Epargne )

28. Christian Meier (Canada / Garmin )

29. David Lopez (Spain / Caisse d'Epargne )

30. Roman Kireyev (Kazakhstan / Astana )

Overall standings

1. Alessandro Ballan (Italy / Lampre ) 21hrs 47mins 00secs"

2. Daniel Moreno (Spain / Caisse d'Epargne ) +4"

3. Pieter Weening (Netherlands / Rabobank ) +6"

4. Francesco Reda (Italy / Quick-Step ) +10"

5. Marek Rutkiewicz (Poland / DHL )

6. Sylwester Szmyd (Poland / Liquigas )

7. Juergen Roelandts (Belgium / Silence - Lotto ) +11"

8. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway / Columbia ) +15"

9. David Loosli (Switzerland / Lampre ) +16"

10. Francesco Gavazzi (Italy / Lampre ) +20"

11. Aitor Galdos (Spain / Euskaltel ) +25"

12. Pablo Lastras (Spain / Caisse d'Epargne )

13. Maciej Paterski (Poland

14. Andriy Grivko (Ukraine / Team ISD )

15. Denys Kostyuk (Ukraine / Team ISD )

16. Marco Marcato (Italy / Vacansoleil )

17. Christian Meier (Canada / Garmin )

18. Kevin De Weert (Belgium / Quick-Step )

19. Sergey Lagutin (Uzbekistan / Vacansoleil )

20. Jesus Del Nero (Spain / Fuji )

21. Tadej Valjavec (Slovenia / AG2R )

22. Michal Golas (Poland / Vacansoleil )

23. Bram Tankink (Netherlands / Rabobank )

24. Maxim Iglinskiy (Kazakhstan / Astana )

25. Jurgen Van Goolen (Belgium / Saxo Bank )

26. Andrey Amador (Costa Rica / Caisse d'Epargne )

27. Bartosz Huzarski (Poland / Team ISD )

28. Daniel Martin (Ireland / Garmin )

29. Mauricio Ardila (Colombia / Rabobank )

30. Johnny Hoogerland (Netherlands / Vacansoleil )

Watch highlights of the Tour of Poland on Friday at 6:15pm on British Eurosport (Sky 410 / Virgin Media 521); Also available on your PC via the Eurosport Player - click on the link under the picture to subscribe.

AFP

Comment 1 - 4 of 4

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  1. Like many others I used to tire eventually of long­ summers with only Duffers in the box.

    But somehow I­ have missed the old darling on International since he­ went exclusive to British E/S. for TDF

    I think that­ the combination of commentators on this Tour of Poland­ has done a lot to relive a sometimes­ 'pedestrian' race.

    From Fred, on Sat 8 Aug 12:13AM

  2. Great to see the rainbow jersey in the thick of it. If­ the rumours are true and Sky are interested, then I­ think he would be great addition to the squad and he­ seems like a very nice guy. As for Duffield et al,­ I've already vented my spleen on this subject on­ these forums below. Having been spoilt by Phil, Paul­ and Ned over the last few weeks, a return to the likes­ of Duffers and Kirby just brings back into focus how­ bad the Eurosport commentary team is. Duffers spent­ more time talking about rain (in general, rather than­ impact on racing?!), the war, Poland's recent entry­ to the EU etc..............as always, very tiresome­ stuff.

    From pedro118118, on Fri 7 Aug 9:11AM

  3. Great win & an exciting finish.
    Bloody Duffield! -­ talking about Team Sky trying to get a ride in next­ year`s TDF said that it will be difficult to attract­ the attention of the Tour organisers before April­ "as there is not much racing in­ Jan/Feb/March"
    Has the dozy tw#t not heard of the­ Tour Down Under, Tour of Quatar, Het Volke etc etc­ etc?
    Why oh why don`t Eurosport use Brian Smith instead­ of this old fool?

    From Bikefan, on Fri 7 Aug 6:48AM

  4. at last,ballan win his 1st stage as world­ champion,,yet, he has to win more and more, just like­ bettini wearing the rainbow jersey,,miss him..

    From aqwa, on Fri 7 Aug 1:35AM
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