However, there was no sign this time of Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), who had been Milan’s main rival in the previous stages. Nor were the other big names, such as Jordi Meeus (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe), Sam Welsford (Netcompany INEOS) or Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates – XRG), able to finish in the top 10. The sprint this time went off without a hitch and without any chaos.

Given his dominance, even the winner himself was at a loss for words. “I’m just in really good form at the moment and I’ve been looking forward to the second half of the season,” said Milan, adding: “I’m extremely motivated, and that’s sometimes just as important as my legs.”

The third stage, covering 193 kilometres from Gorzów Wielkopolski to Zielona Góra alongside the German-Polish border, was once again predominantly flat, featuring only a short mountain climb just twelve kilometres before the finish. The general classification will be decided from the fourth stage onwards. It is unlikely that the 30 seconds of bonus time Milan has earned in sprints over the first three days will be enough to help him retain the yellow jersey. The race is heading into the mountains.

2026 Tour de Pologne – Results of Stage 3

Here’s how the third stage of the 2026 Tour de Pologne unfolded

There was action right from the start on Stage 3 of the Tour of Poland. As soon as the race got underway, Taco van der Hoorn (Lotto Intermarché) went on the attack. Radosław Frątczak (Polish national team) gave chase and caught up with him – it looked as though the stage was set to unfold in the usual way. But things turned out differently. After 40 kilometres and further attacks from the peloton, the breakaway riders were caught again. It was back to square one.

Dries De Bondt (Team Jayco AlUla), the leader of the mountains classification, launched an attack. A trio formed before another group broke away from the peloton. The curious thing was that Milan himself joined the group and rode to the front with his companions. This caused discontent among both the breakaway riders and the peloton. At the back, Soudal Quick-Step were left to chase flat out on their own, whilst the breakaway riders knew that, with the Yellow Jersey among them, they stood absolutely no chance.

History repeats itself

After a few kilometres, Milan then dropped back into the peloton. At the front, a powerful trio comprising van der Hoorn, De Bondt and Enzo Paleni (Groupama – FDJ United) remained, and they were initially able to extend their lead once more. With 120 kilometres to go, the breakaway riders had a one-minute lead. However, it didn’t increase by much more than that after that.

With 71 kilometres to go, the scene from the start of the stage was repeated. A second group of three riders exploited the small gap and surged to the front. Sjoerd Bax and Fabio Christen (both Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team), who had already made a move earlier in the day, caught up with last year’s third-placed rider Matteo Sobrero (Lidl – Trek) and extended the gap, which had temporarily shrunk to 25 seconds. By the 50-kilometre mark, the gap had widened again to one and a half minutes.

But the sprinters’ teams had everything under control. Whilst De Bondt secured points at the mountain classification twelve kilometres from the finish, it was all over four kilometres from the line. The breakaways began to form, with Decathlon, NSN and EF Education in particular making their presence felt. But in the end, it was all to no avail once again: Milan proved to be the strongest once more.