Foss made a promising start to his race against the clock. The Norwegian gained a handful of seconds on the number one rider at the first checkpoint and maintained his pace to the line. With a time of 19:31, he finished in ninth place.

"I can definitely be happy with that", Foss said. "This is my first race since suffering from COVID in May. I'm still not feeling 100 percent and finding it hard to recover between race days. I didn't have the best legs today, but luckily I could keep going until the end. The top ten was a realistic result for now."

Foss said he enjoyed wearing the rainbow jersey for almost an entire season. "It's been a great year. I've had many experiences and emotions that wouldn't have been possible without the jersey. It's a shame I didn't win in it, but maybe we can save that for next time."

As always, he was modest about his chances of extending his world title. "In any case, the course length suits me, and I'm motivated. Last year I was able to surprise everyone."

Sam Oomen, Team Jumbo-Visma's highest-placed rider in the general classification, suffered too much from injuries sustained in a crash on stage four. He dropped to 26th place in the general classification. Olav Kooij and Mick van Dijke did not start in the time trial. The young Dutchmen withdrew from the last two stages of the Tour de Pologne in preparation for the World Cup.