Long before the end of stage 6 of the Tour de Pollogne, while waiting for the riders to finish the time trial, Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) told Cycling News that he would be "overjoyed" if he finished in the top 10 on the day's results list.

Sheffield was the provisional stage leader at that point, but as it turned out, only one other rider, Timen Arensman (Team DSM), beat his time by eight seconds.

The runner-up finish may have been frustrating for Sheffield, who came so close to winning the event, but beating out so many experienced pros for the best result on the World Tour is another big step forward for the young American pro.

Sheffield's breakthrough came on a day when three of Ineos Grenadiers' youngest riders, 20-year-old Ben Tulett, Sheffield, and 23-year-old Ethan Hayter, finished in the top six in the Poligne time trial, with Hayter taking the overall lead.

"I felt pretty good today. I wasn't expecting much, especially after four days of hard racing," Sheffield, who has already won the Ruta del Sol and Brabants Pile stages this season, told Cycling News as he waited for the finish in the warm Polish sunshine.

"Time trials like this are fairly new terrain for me. But I also enjoy the short, punchy prologue."

"It wasn't technical at all today. There were a lot of ups and downs in the beginning, but it paid off in the end.

Sheffield said he hadn't looked too closely at the course beforehand, but after scouting the 11-km, uphill-right course, he thought, "Maybe I can get a fast time. After the Classic, I was hoping to win a World Tour race, like today's stage or TT. But even if I could finish in the top 10, I would be very happy."

Sheffield, who completed his first year as a professional with Rally Cycling in 2021, has had a busy first year with the WorldTour team, including a full program of Classics with Ineos Grenadiers. But there is still much more in store for this North American athlete after Pollogne.

"After the first half of the season, I flew back to participate in the Nationals and was disappointed to lose the time trial by a few seconds to Lawson [Craddock, Bike Exchange-Jacco]. But I came back here and had a high altitude training camp with the team in Andorra.

"Then it was straight to Poland for the Tour of Denmark. But whatever happens between now and the end of the season in late October, the result at Pollogne in Sheffield will remain a milestone in his year, and probably in his career.