Stage 5 – Mersch – Luxembourg-Limpertsberg (177 kilometres)

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) produced a historic ride on the fifth and final stage of the Škoda Tour de Luxembourg. Alone at the front for 177 kilometres, the Dutchman was never caught and took his second stage win of the week. Davide Piganzoli (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) finished fourth in Limpertsberg, kept the yellow jersey and secured the overall victory.

Van der Poel went clear on his own right from the start in Mersch. Six riders set off in pursuit, among them Luxembourg’s Loïc Bettendorff and Larry Valvasori (National Team Luxembourg), but they never managed to bridge across. When the peloton caught them 45 kilometres from the finish, Van der Poel still held a lead of 3’30”.

On the final circuit, with three ascents of the Pabeierbierg, attacks came from the bunch, among them Søren Kragh Andersen (Lidl-Trek) and Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal Quick-Step). The chasing group was reduced to around 20 riders before Mikkel Frølich Honoré (EF Education-EasyPost) went off alone, but he could not threaten the leader.

Van der Poel crossed the line 1’04” ahead of Honoré and 1’09” ahead of Reinderink. Piganzoli finished fourth, in the same time as Reinderink.

In the final general classification, the Italian finished 52” ahead of Matteo Vercher (TotalEnergies) and 54” ahead of Thomas Gachignard (TotalEnergies). He also won the white jersey. Van der Poel took the points and mountains classifications and was named most aggressive rider of the stage.

The reactions

Davide Piganzoli (Team Visma | Lease a Bike): “I’m feeling super great. Today was an amazing ride from the whole team. We managed really well. We let the breakaway go, then the other teams worked for the victory. But Mathieu was the strongest and he deserved the win. This morning we started with the plan to go for the GC. That was our goal, and I was feeling really great in the race as well. The team did a super job, and here we are. Mathieu is amazing. He was alone in front, and in the bunch I think six or seven riders were pulling full gas, and we never caught him. So congratulations to him.”

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech): “It wasn’t the plan before the start, but I found myself alone right from the beginning of the race and just rode my own tempo all day. At first I thought the chasers would come back, but I kept riding my pace and the gap grew again. That’s when I decided to go full gas to the finish. I had incredible legs today. The previous days, they weren’t the legs I wanted: I came from Spain and maybe trained a bit too much. I like coming to Luxembourg, it’s a really nice, well-organised race, so I’m happy to win the final stage.”