Grégoire outsprints Healy in Luxembourg finale, while McNulty’s overall win breaks HTC’s record

The fifth stage in Luxembourg covered 176.4 kilometers, from Mersch to the capital, Luxembourg. There were four categorized climbs along the way, but in fact, it was a mix of up and down all day in the always challenging stage race. Logically, many attackers still saw a chance to attempt an early breakaway.

A nice group of twelve eventually rode over the first climbs with a slight two-minute lead. Among others, Michael Gogl (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek), and Casper Pedersen (Soudal-Quick Step) were at the front. Luxembourg's Mats Wenzel (Equipo Kern Pharma) was the best-ranked rider, 3.36 minutes behind McNulty. So UAE had to control the race.

After an exciting opening phase and despite a nice course, there was room for an extended status quo. Nils Politt controlled the front of the peloton, knowing that this would secure McNulty's leading position. At the front, the only excitement came when the riders battled for the mountain points. Tudor, Groupama-FDJ, and Wagner Bazin WB eventually took control.

This caused an acceleration, reducing the twelve leaders' lead to less than a minute. With 35 kilometers to go, that was a pretty hopeless mission, so the breakaway group also had to accelerate. Thibault Guernalec (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) made the move, reducing the group from twelve to nine riders.

Wenzel countered the attacks of the others and then decided to go solo. The brave home rider saw his lead increase to over a minute, but the peloton had also started to move. Ben Healy (EF) and Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) had gone on the attack, forcing McNulty to chase. Slowly, everything came together.

Healy and Grégoire were not immediately a threat to McNulty, but with 20 kilometers to go, the two caught up with Wenzel. Marc Hirschi wanted to catch up, while the American waited for his UAE teammates. By the time they had caught up with McNulty, Grégoire, Healy, and Wenzel had already gained 40 seconds. Hirschi remained in between.

The brave home rider Wenzel fell behind when he missed a turn. The other two leaders continued to ride further and further away from the yellow jersey, although UAE still managed to maintain control in the group of favorites. They also received help from Lidl-Trek, as there were fears for Skjelmose's podium place. This kept the gap roughly the same, but the stage victory went to the men at the front.

The explosive Grégoire knew that Healy had to try something to get away from him. The attack was coming, and it came in the last 2 kilometers. It wasn't really an acceleration, but the high pace wasn't enough to shake off his rival. In fact, he broke away himself and managed to stay just ahead of Healy. That's how he clinched his second victory of the week. McNulty rode safely behind him to fourth place and the overall victory.