ZAKOPANE, Poland, Aug 7, 2009 (AFP) – Norway’s Edvald Boasson Hagen, of the Columbia team, won a sprint finish for the sixth and penultimate stage of the Tour of Poland here on Friday.

Hagen crossed ahead of Italians Alessandro Ballan, who holds the overall race leader’s yellow jersey, and Marco Marcato after the 162km run between Kroscienko and Zakopane.

“The stage was very tough. It wasn’t possible to take the yellow jersey from Ballan, but tomorrow I’m going to do everything I can to take it from him and win,” warned Hagen.

Poland’s Marek Rutkiewicz was the star of the mountainous stage taking the King of the Mountain jersey.

The Pole formed part of a group of nine riders who built up a lead of two and a half minutes, but he lost out to Ballan, who was at the head of a peleton that caught the group 30km from the line.

The seventh and final stage on Saturday is a 136km run through the mountains from Rabka Zdroj to Krakow.

Stage
1. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Columbia 4hr 03min 40sec, 2. Alessandro Ballan (ITA) Lampre same time 3. Marco Marcato (ITA) s.t., 4. Francesco Reda
(ITA) s.t., 5. Francesco Gavazzi (ITA) s.t.

Overall
1. Alessandro Ballan (ITA) Lampre 25r hr 50min 34sec, 2. Daniel Moreno Fernandez (ESP) at 10sec, 3. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) 11, 4. Pieter Weening
(NED) 12, 5. Francesco Reda (ITA) 16