Where Team Sky’s young protégée missed an opportunity to lead the team, there were no such problems for Polish champion Michal Kwiatkowski at Omega Pharma-Quickstep.
The Belgian super team’s Grand Tour ambitions were expected to be led by Rigoberto Uran this season but the Colombian has been usurped by Kwiatkowski’s superb early-season form.
Kwiatkowski’s 11th place finish at the Tour de France last season had already shown he was more than capable but he’s stepped it up to another level in 2014, with victories at the Strade Bianche and Volta ao Algrave.
And third on stage one in the Basque Country doesn’t reflect the big shift he put in on the Gaintza. His initial bid to bridge to Contador and Valverde didn’t pay off, but his late acceleration earned him a two-second gap on the remaining chasers to put him in pole position for a podium place.
Kwiatkowski’s challenge faded on the Guardiagrele at Tirreno-Adriatico but, as the season matures, so does the Pole, and he appears more and more comfortable leading the Belgian super team.
