Van der Poel wins 2nd stage in Luxembourg after 175 KM solo breakaway; Visma | LaB takes the overall victory

Mathieu van der Poel had won the first stage, but lost the lead to Marijn van den Berg the next day. In Stage 3, Pepijn Reinderink capped off the celebration with his first pro victory, but Davide Piganzoli took over the lead. The Italian rider from Visma | Lease a Bike then won the time trial and took a step toward the overall victory.

He had to defend his lead in the final stage, and that wasn’t going to be easy. The stage covered 177 kilometers with nearly 3,000 meters of climbing, the perfect setting for a spectacular race. And that’s exactly what unfolded right from the start: shortly after the starting gun, it was Van der Poel himself who made his move. The Dutch rider from Alpecin-Premier Tech opened up a gap on his own.

After a while, a chasing group formed, but Moritz Mauss (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Johannes Adamietz (REMBE | rad-net), Morten Nortoft (ColoQuick), Fausto Penna (Lotto Kern-Haus), Loïc Bettendorff (Hrinkow Advarics), and Larry Valvasori (AC Bisontine) could only watch as the leader pulled further and further ahead. Kilometer after kilometer, he extended his lead.

With all the mountain sprints in the final stage, he also took the mountains jersey from his compatriot Reinderink. It was all secondary, however, because it was the stage victory he wanted. His lead over the chasers grew to one minute, then a minute and a half, then two... With seventy kilometers to go (he had already been riding alone for a hundred kilometers by then), his lead was well over three minutes, and the peloton had to make up 4.30 minutes.

And it was all hands on deck. EF Education-EasyPost, Soudal Quick-Step, and Visma | Lease a Bike all sent riders to the front to catch Van der Poel, but it wasn’t going smoothly. The pursuers were caught, and the lone leader saw his lead shrink somewhat. The final 40 kilometers were raced on a very challenging circuit, and Van der Poel still had a 3.30-minute lead at that point.

With 25 kilometers to go, the battle heated up in the peloton. It was Reinderink who accelerated and pulled away from the thinned-out group, where Visma | Lease a Bike was in control. As a result, the Dutch rider from Soudal Quick-Step held back, and the chase group was back together. Meanwhile, Van der Poel took plenty of risks in the rain, which led to a few close calls.

Mikkel Honoré (EF Education-EasyPost) was the next to make a breakaway. The Dane broke away and gradually closed the gap on Van der Poel. But could he make up two minutes in less than 20 kilometers? Behind him, it was once again Reinderink who set the pace, but Piganzoli and Van den Berg showed their strength and wouldn’t let him get away.

As the final lap began, with 10 kilometers to go, things were looking better and better for Van der Poel. It was becoming more and more a matter of jostling and grinding it out, but his lead remained comfortable. The favorites behind him kept fighting, but it was all for naught: the Dutchman gloriously capped off his solo ride of over 170 kilometers. Piganzoli stayed calm and clinched the overall victory.

1. Mathieu van der Poel
2. Mikkel Honoré
3. Pepijn Reinderink
4. Davide Piganzoli
5. Lukas Nerurkar