A wild finish!
Baden Cooke made up for lost time when he won the 149km first stage of the Tour of Poland between Gdansk and Elblag overnight.
The Australian sprinter surged in the last corner, 250 metres from the finish line, and resisted the challenge of Italians Luca Paolini and Francesco Chicchi to score his first victory in 18 months.
As Cooke, Paolini and Chicchi were battling it out for sprint victory, most of their rivals were involved in a crash. German Robert Foerster was the first to hit the ground and he caused Italian Daniele Bennati, winner of three stages in the Tour of Germany, to fall as well. No rider was seriously injured.
The next stage takes off from nearby Tczew, which is just a short trainride south from Gdansk. For the region's cycling fans, seeing the action live is a must, so join the party and peddle on over to the next stage in the Tour.
All the Polish roads I've ever driven on have been a mess, so fans of crashes shouldn't be disappointed! It would take a guild navigator (Frank Herbert's Dune reference) to escape all the pot-holes, so maybe they aren't testing for drugs during this Tour. Anyway, best of luck to all the competitors!