Stage 5 Sprint Triumph: Matthew Brennan Outpaces Ben Turner in Tour de Pologne
In the fifth stage of the Tour de Pologne, it was Matthew Brennan (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) who stole the show, securing a thrilling sprint victory. The stage, marked by a four-man breakaway, saw a tense battle between Alberto Bettiol (XDS Astana Team) and Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates XRG), who held a slender 15-second lead for much of the race.
However, their lead began to dwindle as the peloton closed in, with Bahrain Victorious, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, and Groupama-FDJ joining the effort to reel in the day-long leaders. With 1.5km to go, the quartet was caught, leaving a reduced group of only 38 riders for the final sprint.
Brennan launched from a few riders back, outpacing Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek) and Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates XRG) to take the stage win. Jan Christen managed a respectable third place, while Paul Lapeira (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) finished in the bunch, maintaining his hold on the yellow jersey.
The break of the day consisted of Jensen Plowright (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Huub Artz (Intermarché-Wanty), Patrick Gamper (Team Jayco AlUla), and Martin Svrček (Soudal-Quick-Step). The leaders held a three-minute gap over the peloton at the top of the second categorised climb of the day, but the gap gradually fell as the race progressed, with the leaders and the peloton separated by just 38 seconds with 20km to go.
Patrick Gamper took the first King of the Mountains (KoM) point on stage 5 at Kocierz. Michał Kwiatkowski (Team Ineos Grenadiers) did the bulk of the effort in the finale, trying to lead things out for Ben Turner, who finished second in the stage 5 sprint.
Before his victory at the 2022 Tour de Pologne, Brennan had already established himself as a successful young rider. However, his major breakthroughs and most wins came in the 2025 season, where he won eight races including three at WorldTour level (e.g., Volta a Catalunya, Tour of Romandie). The 2025 Tour de Pologne marked a key point in his career becoming prominent at WorldTour level.
Paul Lapeira leads the Tour de Pologne by eight seconds over Victor Langellotti (Team Ineos Grenadiers). The race continues tomorrow with another challenging stage, promising more excitement and competition among the riders.
Sports were at the forefront in the Tour de Pologne as Matthew Brennan secured a thrilling sprint victory in the fifth stage. The following day's stage promises more sports action and competition among the riders.
