The final stage of the 71st edition of the Tour de Pologne was a 25 kilometer out and back time trial through Krakow and its highway.
A UCI official meticulously checked every bike to verify it conformed to the TT bike standards. Some teams had a mechanic bring the bikes in to be checked while most riders had their bikes checked before doing recon on the course.
OPQS.
Setting down the official start line.
Jack Bobridge, the lantern rouge, was the first rider to officially set out on the course. There's so much nuance in a TT that you never catch on TV. The man holding Bobridge's saddle needed to hold the seat completely straight and for an accomplished track rider like Bobridge, he was frustrated that the official couldn't seem to get it precisely right.
My view of the race change immediately after Bobridge set out. One if the people who worked at the race had recognized me from the past couple of days. We had a quick chat about the race (thank goodness I can talk about cycling with confidence in my mediocre French!) before he invited me to watch from a car! I don't generally look at experiences as once in a lifetime, but I really thought that after seeing the Tour de France TT from a car, I'd never get to do it again. I'm so glad I was wrong!
We waited for a few riders to start before we took off ourselves. Below: Guillaume Boivin watched the action.
Steele Von Hoff.
The course was unevenly peppered with spectators, but the fans who did show up did a great job of cheering.
The first rider we followed was Kamil Gradek of the Polish National Team.
As it was an out and back course, we got to also see the riders who had started ahead of Gradek on their way back to the city. Below: Jonas Van Genechten.
Cameron Meyer.
From the map I knew it was a tight turn around, but I assumed it was a roundabout. Instead it was a tight triangle, a series tricky maneuvers.
Pass.
Nate Brown.
Open road for Gradek.
Watching a TT from a car is like a roller coaster ride you want to go on again, so I was excited when Alain said we could go out one more time! We paused for a minute in front of the the rider check in area.
Close up of the clock used by officials to give the 5 second count down.
This time we were behind Colombian Julian Arredondo of Trek.
Koldo Fernandez and a RusVelo rider.
Guillaume Bonnafond rode by with Matthias Krizek hot on his heels and was passed before the finish line.
About to drive under the finish gantry! My time in the car was up!
