Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) won the fourth stage of the Škoda Tour de Luxembourg. In the 15.5 km individual time trial around Differdange, he claimed victory with a time of 19’11”, finishing 7 seconds ahead of Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) and 11 seconds ahead of Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek).
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) finished fifth, 19 seconds behind, and regained the yellow jersey of the overall leader. Before the final stage, the reigning world champion holds a 3-second lead over Ayuso and Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal Quick-Step), who are tied. Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) is fourth, 8 seconds behind.
Juan Ayuso: “I just wanted to go full gas from the start. I knew that with good legs I would have a chance to win. I wanted to make the difference on the climb, and I succeeded. It was tough because I didn’t know how fast the other favorites would be, so I focused completely on myself. Tomorrow we’ll try something to maybe go for the overall victory.”
Mathieu van der Poel: “A time trial is always hard, and today was no different. I managed to pace my energy well, but after reaching the top of the Col de l’Europe, I couldn’t hold the speed I really wanted. Still, I’m very happy with the result and how I feel. Of course, I want to defend the yellow jersey now, even though it wasn’t really the main goal. We’ll see what happens. The Škoda Tour de Luxembourg has already been very successful for me.”