Ethan Haight (Ineos Grenadier) clinched his first career World Tour overall with victory at the Tour of Poland, and although there was no day of No. 1, the Briton finished with impeccable consistency seven stages of competition.
Hite won the Norwegian Tour and finished second on the UK Tour in 2021, but until now he has not won a GC on the World Tour.
His victory made him the sixth active British driver to win on the World Tour, joining Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas, Tao Jigan Hart, Adam Yates and Simon Yates .
The British time-trial champion finished in the top 10 in the sixth time-trial, completing the 11.8km track, 8 seconds behind champion Thymen Arensman (Team DSM) and runner-up behind teammate Magnus Sheffield.
Despite a lower ranking in the first five stages, the 23-year-old has always managed to finish in the peloton, meaning he only loses to drivers based on bonus seconds.
He did cross the finish line a few minutes after Stage 4 winner Pascal Akerman (UAE Emirates) but got the same finish time due to a crash in the final kilometer.
Thus, his time-trial performance helped him move into the overall lead of the race, as then-leader Sergio Iguita (Bora-Hansgrohe was only 16th, more than 40 seconds behind.
Heading into the final stage, with a 177.8km ride from Valsir to Krakow, Hayter leads the standings by 11 seconds. Ahrensmann was second, while Pelo Bilbao (Bahrain – Victory) was 18 seconds behind third.
With the remainder of the final stage undulating and flat, the Ineos Grenadiers were able to control the peloton, giving Haight his best chance at a first World Tour title. He provides timely supplies and seizes opportunities with both hands.
The attackers were caught with 10km left, allowing the team to start preparing for their sprinting lead. Hite sits at the wheel of Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers), waiting for the moment to control any potential attack from his GC opponent.
A lackluster finish made that difficult, however, and the group remained tactful heading into the final kilometer.
Groupama-FDJ led the way, leaving Arnaud Démare free to sprint ahead of Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) and Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) in second and third respectively.
Démare’s victory secured his top spot in the standings, the second time he has done so this season after the Giro d’Italia.
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