Jakob Söderqvist puts European Championships disappointment behind him and wins the Eneco Tour prologue
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Follow us on GoogleJakob Söderqvist won the prologue of the Eneco Tour in the elite men’s category on Tuesday evening. Half an hour after Lieke Nooijen’s masterful time trial in the women’s race, the men’s race was also decided in The Hague. Underdogs Unibet Rose Rockets put on an impressive performance, but were defeated by the Swedish champion.
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As we also mentioned in the women’s race report: the 3.1-kilometer prologue of the Eneco Tour in The Hague had to be modified on Tuesday afternoon. Race director Roxane Knetemann had devised a plan in which men and women would start alternately.
However, the UCI put a stop to that on Tuesday, so Knetemann ultimately came up with a plan in which the women and men were divided into four groups, allowing for a somewhat mixed start after all.
Unibet Rose Rockets steal the show at the Eneco Tour Prologue
VolkerWessels, a smaller team, finished with three riders in the top ten in the women’s race; in the men’s race, Unibet Rose Rockets stole the show. No fewer than three riders ended up on the hot seat. First it was Hartthijs de Vries’ turn, but Tomas Kopecky and Wessel Mouris went even faster.
For example, at one point Unibet Rose Rockets had three riders in the top four of the provisional standings, but there were still some fast riders yet to start. Teams such as Visma | Lease a Bike and Lidl-Trek, among others, still had some cards to play.
Prologue: Unibet Rose Rockets defeated by Söderqvist
Michiel Mouris, riding for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, had slipped into second place among the Unibet riders, and neither Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal Quick-Step) nor Edoardo Affini (Visma | Lease a Bike) managed to set the fastest time. They took provisional fourth and fifth place.
In the final 15 minutes, a few more big names rolled off the starting platform, including Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step), who fell one second short of Mouris’s time. Söderqvist, riding for Lidl-Trek, just managed to finish on the right side of the stopwatch, 0.8 seconds faster.
Since Christophe Laporte, riding for Visma | Lease a Bike, also finished one second short, Söderqvist won the prologue, ahead of the surprise contender Wessel Mouris. Laporte, Hayter, and Michiel Mouris rounded out the top five.
Prologue results, 2026 Eneco Tour - Elite Men
1. Jakob Söderqvist (Lidl-Trek) – 00:03:32
2. Wessel Mouris (Unibet Rose Rockets) + 0:01
3. Christophe Laporte (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) + 0:01
4. Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step) + 0:02
5. Michiel Mouris (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) + 0:03
2. Wessel Mouris (Unibet Rose Rockets) + 0:01
3. Christophe Laporte (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) + 0:01
4. Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step) + 0:02
5. Michiel Mouris (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) + 0:03
6. Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) + 0:04
7. Tomas Kopecky (Unibet Rose Rockets) + 0:05
8. Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal Quick-Step) + 0:06
9. Edoardo Affini (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) + 0:06
10. Hartthijs de Vries (Unibet Rose Rockets) + 0:07
7. Tomas Kopecky (Unibet Rose Rockets) + 0:05
8. Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal Quick-Step) + 0:06
9. Edoardo Affini (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) + 0:06
10. Hartthijs de Vries (Unibet Rose Rockets) + 0:07
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David Bavin-HobbsChief Editor
David has been working in the sports & cycling industry for 16 years. Covering racing, business and technology, he has worked in communications for cycling companies, teams, and as a journalist. His proudest achievement is winning the first bike race he ever entered. He hasn't won a race since.
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