Lidl-Trek dominates the ZLM Tour opening time trial as Vacek edges out Unibet Rose Rockets

Mathias Vacek won the first stage of the ZLM Tour. The Czech rider from Lidl-Trek was by far the best in the time trial in Kapelle and claimed the first leader’s jersey. Niklas Larsen (Unibet Rose Rockets) finished a strong second, placing himself among no fewer than four Lidl-Trek riders.

The ZLM Tour returned to the men's cycling calendar in 2026. The stage race has been held for 36 editions now, after being removed from the calendar in 2025.

With riders like Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies), and the Lidl-Trek duo Mathias Vacek and Jakob Söderqvist, there were plenty of great riders to watch. The race began with a time trial—and not just any time trial: a course of over 21 kilometers had been set up around Kapelle. Not a prologue, but a worthy race against the clock.

Joren Bloem (Unibet Rose Rockets) had set the initial benchmark time by beating Mick van Dijke (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), among others, but Héctor Álvarez (Lidl-Trek) beat that time by a significant margin. The young Spaniard had posted a solid time, but was dethroned by his teammate Max Walscheid, who was just over a second faster.

Lidl-Trek dominated in the Netherlands, and they continued to do so. Söderqvist also rode a fantastic time trial. The Swede, the U23 world time trial champion, paced himself perfectly and finished half a second ahead of his German teammate. Wessel Mouris (Unibet Rose Rockets) came close but fell short. Teammate Niklas Larsen (Unibet Rose Rockets), however, pulled off the impossible and secured a five-second lead.

But Vacek was clearly the king of the time trial. The Czech champion already had an eight-second lead at the first checkpoint, and he extended that lead at the second checkpoint. He was unstoppable, and at the finish line he had a whopping nineteen-second lead over Larsen, who saw his hopes go up in smoke. The other riders couldn’t come anywhere close to that top time.

1. Mathias Vacek
2. Niklas Larsen + 0.19
3. Jakob Söderqvist + 0.24