Mathieu van der Poel wins opening stage, Bob Jungels best-placed Luxembourger

The 84th edition of the Skoda Tour de Luxembourg began on Wednesday with the first stage decided in a sprint.

Dutch cyclist Mathieu van der Poel emerged victorious, with French rider Christophe Laporte finishing second, and Dane Andreas Kron in third. Bob Jungels was the top Luxembourger, finishing in 16th place.

The opening stage covered 158 kilometres, starting and ending in Luxembourg City. The race featured constant wind throughout the route.

The initial 50 kilometres were relatively flat, leading up to the first significant climb at Niklosbierg in Vianden. The route then included the climbs at Bourscheid and Eschdorf before returning from northern Luxembourg through the western part of the country back to the capital.

Early in the race, a breakaway group of four cyclists formed: Dutchman Pepijn Reinderink, Belgian Vincent van Hemelen, Italian Mattia Bais, and Luxembourger Alexandre Kess. The breakaway's lead peaked at around seven minutes. However, Van Hemelen was dropped on the climb to Bourscheid, and Kess lost contact during the climb to Eschdorf, getting caught by the peloton shortly after.

Approximately 80 kilometres from the finish, the peloton increased its pace, reducing the breakaway's advantage. Key teams contributing to the chase included UAE Team Emirates, featuring last year's winner Marc Hirschi, Lidl-Trek with Alex Kirsch, and Visma Lease a Bike. Van der Poel's team, Alpecin-Deceuninck, held back, racing with only four cyclists due to last-minute withdrawals of Sören Krag Andersson and Jimmy Janssens.

The breakaway group of Pepijn Reinderink and Mattia Bais was caught nine kilometres from the finish on the climb to Stafelter.

The decisive moment came on the final climb up to Marché-aux-Poissons, where Mathieu van der Poel narrowly secured victory ahead of Christophe Laporte and Andreas Kron.

The second stage of the Skoda Tour de Luxembourg will take place on Thursday, covering 155 kilometres from Junglinster to Schifflange.

Stage result

1 VAN DER POEL Mathieu Alpecin - Deceuninck 3:46:28
2 LAPORTE Christophe Team Visma | Lease a Bike ,,
3 KRON Andreas Lotto Dstny ,,
4 LEMMEN Bart Team Visma | Lease a Bike ,,
5 FISHER-BLACK Finn UAE Team Emirates ,,
6 TIBERI Antonio Bahrain - Victorious ,,
7 KELDERMAN Wilco Team Visma | Lease a Bike ,,
8 GUERREIRO Ruben Movistar Team ,,
9 BARRENETXEA Jon Movistar Team ,,
10 LABROSSE Jordan Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team ,,
...
16 JUNGELS Bob Luxembourg 0:00
31 GENIETS Kevin Groupama - FDJ ,,
36 WENZEL Mats Luxembourg ,,

General ranking

1 VAN DER POEL Mathieu Alpecin - Deceuninck 3:46:18
2 LAPORTE Christophe Team Visma | Lease a Bike 0:04
3 KRON Andreas Lotto Dstny 0:06
4 HIRSCHI Marc UAE Team Emirates 0:09
5 LEMMEN Bart Team Visma | Lease a Bike 0:10
6 FISHER-BLACK Finn UAE Team Emirates ,,
7 TIBERI Antonio Bahrain - Victorious ,,
8 KELDERMAN Wilco Team Visma | Lease a Bike ,,
9 GUERREIRO Ruben Movistar Team ,,
10 BARRENETXEA Jon Movistar Team ,,
...
17 JUNGELS Bob Luxembourg 0:10
31 GENIETS Kevin Groupama - FDJ ,,
36 WENZEL Mats Luxembourg ,,