Bruised Lapeira survives 'dangerous' finale to fight on in Poland

He’s still here. On Wednesday afternoon, after the mass crash that blighted stage 3 of the Tour de Pologne, rumour erroneously spread that Paul Lapeira had abandoned the race. But the Frenchman, though bloodied and bruised, duly made it to the finish line in Wałbrzych, determined to honour his torn yellow jersey by completing the course at the very least.

Although Lapeira summoned a smile for directeur sportif Luke Roberts when he reached the Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale bus, it was clear that he was in some distress as he climbed aboard. Roberts didn’t sugarcoat things when speaking to Domestique, acknowledging that it wasn’t at all clear if Lapeira would continue in the race.

Even when Lapeira reported for the start of stage 4 in Rybnik on Thursday morning, there was the distinct sense that he was setting out more in hope than expectation. “We will have to sort of wait and see how it is once the intense part of the race comes,” Roberts admitted.

By day’s end, Lapeira was still in the race and still in the yellow jersey, despite the cracked ribs he sustained in Wednesday’s crash, and despite the bandages and gauze on his left arm and leg. Indeed, the yellow jersey was posted prominently towards the head of the peloton on the technical finishing circuit around Cieszyn. He crossed the finish line safely in the bunch, and he retains an eight-second lead in the overall standings ahead of Victor Langellotti (Ineos).

“For sure, that was a hard day,” Lapeira told reporters behind the podium in Cieszyn. “I wasn’t even sure to take the start this morning, but the team treated me well yesterday evening.

“Because of the jersey, I wanted to give it a go and try, and in the end, it was not so bad. For sure, it was painful, especially my ribs, which I think are cracked. When I took some deep breaths, it was painful. But the legs are still really, really nice. I’m happy to be there with the yellow jersey tonight, and I’ll take it day by day from now.”

Although Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale lost Sam Bennett on Thursday – the Irishman abandoned, having crashed on the opening day – Lapeira was well marshalled throughout the afternoon. Lapeira is one of three Decathlon riders currently leading a stage race, with Léo Bisiaux atop the standings at the Vuelta a Burgos and Nicolas Prodhomme doing likewise at the Tour de l’Ain.

“I have to say a big, big, big thank you to my team,” Lapeira said. “They were crazy strong, crazy good, all of them. I can’t thank them enough. They still have a lot of work, but I’m really grateful for all the job they do.”

Once Lapeira had survived the category 1 climb of Przełęcz Przegibek, it seemed clear that he would retain yellow, though he expressed concern at the perils faced by the peloton on the four laps of the finishing circuit around Cieszyn.

“That was a really hectic lap,” Lapeira said. “To be honest, I think it’s too dangerous in a WorldTour race. We don’t need these dangerous laps. It is what it is. But if we don’t have this on the next days, it would be nice.”

The terrain will certainly be more selective over the next two stages, which will bring the race to the mountain resorts of Zakopane and Bukowina. It remains to be seen if Lapeira’s rib injury will hinder him on those punchy finales, but he drew confidence from making it through his first test since the crash.

“The biggest concern was today, so I’m a bit more confident tonight,” Lapeira said. “But we have to see how it all goes. I really have to take it day by day, so I can’t think ahead to Saturday for now.”