Tour de Pologne Stage 5: Kwiatkowski Retains Yellow Jersey in Home Country

Tour de Pologne Stage 5: Kwiatkowski Retains Yellow Jersey in Home Country

Polish rider Michal Kwiatkowski may have lost a second to 2nd place GC rider Moreno Moser (Liquigas-Cannondale) in the intermediate sprint of the 163km stage on Saturday, but he made sure he did not lose any more time by taking 6th in the sprint finish at Tour de Pologne.

Kwiatkowski had a two second advantage going into the stage, and successfully defending his leadership with a 1 second advantage by the end of the stage. Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team did a tremendous job protecting their leader in the peloton. At one point in the final kilometers, fellow Polish rider, and Polish National Champion, Michal Golas was spotted guiding Kwiatkowski on his wheel to the front of the peloton.

Ben Swift took the victory with a late sprint, besting Elia Viviani (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Pim Ligthart (Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team).

Tom Boonen Forced to Abandon

Today Tom Boonen was forced to pull out of the race because of pain to the right side of his chest, as consequence of Tuesday's crash. Boonen will fly back to Belgium tomorrow and he will pass more specific medical checks tomorrow, and on Monday.

"The entire day was OK, a little bit painful but OK," Boonen said. "I worked for the team without particular problems. Then in the final, at about 30 km from the finish, I did a wrong movement to avoid a pothole in the road, and suddenly I got really bad pain on the right side of my chest. I couldn't breathe. That's why I decided to stop. It's a pity — my condition is good and here the team is fantastic, there is a great atmosphere. It's hard to leave the team here, but I have to do what is best for my health leading up to the Olympics."

More information about Boonen's condition will be released at the end of the medical checks.