Massive 30-Rider Pileup Blocks Road at Tour de Pologne, Lemmen Wins After Crash

A huge crash involving about 30 riders brought stage 4 of the Tour de Pologne to a halt Thursday after rain-slick roads triggered a pileup that blocked the road.

Riders at the front of the peloton slid out on a descent and sparked a chain reaction that swept through the bunch.

UAE Emirates-XRG and EF Education-EasyPost were among the hardest hit, with João Almeida and Jan Christen caught up in the crash.

Juan Sebastián Molano and Benoît Cosnefroy (UAE Emirates-XRG) both abandoned following the crash.

Dutch riders Wilco Kelderman and Bart Lemmen of Visma-Lease a Bike also hit the deck, along with Stefan Küng of Tudor Pro Cycling.

Lemmen recovered to win the crash-shortened stage and take the lead for the first victory of his pro career. Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana) attacked late but settled for second, with Axel Laurence (Netcompany-Ineos) taking third.

“After the crash, I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to continue,” Lemmen said. “When I got back on the bike, I felt pain everywhere. At that point, the adrenaline took over and I decided to keep going. I took the risk of going on the offensive myself, and it worked out well. After so many attempts to win, I finally managed to do it.”

Television images showed dozens of riders sprawled across the road in a tangle of bikes as team staff and medical crews rushed to the scene.

Race organizers neutralized the stage to allow riders to be attended to by medical staff.

After a delay of 20 minutes or so, racing resumed with one of the final climbs removed.

Almeida, one of the pre-race favorites, was quickly dropped from the peloton after the restart in one of the biggest crashes of the season.

The extent of the injuries was not immediately clear.

Check back for updates.