BMC Racing sends a team of six riders to the Tour of Poland hoping to capitalise on the form shown at the recent Österreich-Rundfahrt. The eight-day race begins with two tough mountain stages in the mountains of Trentino, Italy, before transferring north to the eastern European country.
"We have a few cards to play in the opening days with the two big mountain stages, plus covering breaks and looking after our leaders," said performance manager Allan Peiper. "I think as we get into Poland there will be some stages where Thor Hushovd can build on the success he had in the Tour of Austria and try for some stages."
Hushovd successfully took out his frustration on missing out on the Tour de France by winning the Norwegian title, and then also winning a stage in Austria. The former World champion will not be the only Austrian stage winner in the team, as Mathais Frank (pictured), will also be riding. The Swiss rider won two stages, having earlier led the Tour de Suisse for five days before only losing out in the final stage.
German Dominik Nerz was also part of the team’s Österreich roster, as was Marco Pinotti, who was narrowly beaten by Fabian Cancellara in the stage seven time trial. Having carried his good form over from his victory in the Italian time trial championships, Pinotti hopes to go one better when the final day’s time trial rides into Krakow next weekend.
"The stages are generally long and surely the last time trial is the key/ goal stage for me," Pinotti said. "I can see how well I recovered from the early stages and compare myself to other competitors. The race seems open to breaks as with six riders per team it will be difficult to control."
Pinotti will have competition for the final stage victory from inside his own team, however, from former US time trial champion Taylor Phinney, who returned to racing at the Tour de Wallonie this week after abandoning the Giro d’Italia with a fever.
The final member of the BMC Racing roster will be Ivan Santaromita, who will get a first chance to show off his Italian champion’s jersey.
BMC Racing Team for the Tour of Poland
Mathias Frank, Thor Hushovd, Dominik Nerz, Taylor Phinney, Marco Pinotti, Ivan Santaromita