Heavy rain and low temperatures accompanied the second stage of the ORLEN Nations Grand Prix. On the demanding route from Jarosław to Hotel Arłamów, the Italians performed best, taking the top two spots. Ludovico Maria Mellano won and became the new leader of the general classification, followed by his teammate Filippo Turconi.
Thursday’s stage of the ORLEN Nations Grand Prix was a tough test for the young cyclists. They faced a 143-kilometer journey from Jarosław to Hotel Arłamów, with several truly challenging climbs along the way. The weather also posed a challenge – only a few degrees above zero, with heavy rain mixed with snow making the competition even tougher.
From the beginning, the peloton was very active, with frequent attacks, but none of them managed to break away – every newly formed group was quickly caught. A two-man breakaway only formed around the halfway point of the stage, consisting of Stef Koning and Norwegian Storm Ingebrigtsen. A French rider joined them shortly afterward but returned to the peloton due to a crash.
Meanwhile, behind them, a fierce battle continued. A series of attacks led to the formation of a strong group of over a dozen riders, including Polish cyclist Patryk Goszczurny. However, he couldn’t keep up with the pace under such harsh conditions.
“It was really tough from the start, temperatures around 5 degrees, rain – the stage was far from easy. After 80 kilometers I managed to get into the key breakaway, which included many strong riders, including those who later fought for the win. Unfortunately, after 40 kilometers in the break, I froze and struggled just to finish. I’ve never felt so bad. I hope tomorrow I can fight for a good stage result – I still want to show something here” commented Patryk Goszczurny.
In the final phase of the stage, only the Norwegian remained in the lead, but he was caught by a few riders before the final climbs. Among them were the two Italians – Ludovico Maria Mellano and Filippo Turconi – as well as Austrian Marco Schrettl. They proved the strongest on the climb to Hotel Arłamów and fought for victory in a three-man sprint. Mellano triumphed, taking the ORLEN general classification lead. Turconi and Schrettl followed in second and third place.
“Today’s stage was very hard. On a tough section we broke away with about 20 riders, including four Italians. The Austrian attacked, and Filippo and I stayed on his wheel. On the final climb, we went full gas and I managed to win. We got first and second place, so it’s a great day for us. Now we’re waiting for the next stages – we want to keep the lead for ourselves and for the entire Italian team” said Ludovico Maria Mellano.
The best Polish rider today was Mateusz Gajdulewicz, who placed 32nd.
“Luckily, the pace was strong from the start, so we weren’t freezing that much, but it still wasn’t pleasant. No breakaway could get away until the group with Patryk Goszczurny did. Unfortunately, he suffered in the cold and couldn’t stay at the front. We tried our chances on the Arłamów climb, but I ran out of strength and it didn’t end well. We’ll keep fighting, there are still two stages and two similar finishes ahead” said Mateusz Gajdulewicz.
“It was very cold – after speaking with the riders, I know they were really freezing, especially Filip Gruszczyński. But everyone had the same conditions. We’re not happy with the results at the finish, I thought it would go better, but we still have two tough stages and we’ll fight to improve” said Polish national team coach Tomasz Brożyna.
Two stages remain – both finishing at Hotel Arłamów. Tomorrow’s stage starts in Ustrzyki Dolne and Sunday’s in Lesko. The time gaps in the ORLEN general classification, sponsored by Title Sponsor ORLEN, are still small. Fourth-place Oliver Peace from Great Britain is only 24 seconds behind the leader – everything is still to play for!
You can follow the ORLEN Nations Grand Prix through various media. 25-minute highlights of each stage will air in the evenings on TVP Sport (today at 10:35 PM) reports are available in Polish Television (TVP), TVN, Polish Radio channels and Onet.