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World Tour 15 Oct '24 - 20 Oct '24
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Laporte sprints to second place in tough first stage Skoda Tour de Luxembourg

Laporte sprints to second place in tough first stage Skoda Tour de Luxembourg

Christophe Laporte crossed the line in second place in the first stage of the Skoda Tour de Luxembourg. The Frenchman, like Bart Lemmen and Wilco Kelderman, made an excellent impression by finishing in the top ten. Mathieu van der Poel won the first stage.

Four riders quickly went on the attack in the first stage of the Luxembourg stage race. The riders created a lead of more than seven minutes but were caught by the peloton on the final climb, in which the Team Visma | Lease a Bike riders regularly showed themselves at the front.

The pace then picked up on the flanks of the Côte de Stafelter. Lemmen tried but got no space from the peloton, resulting in a large group heading to the finish. In the streets of Luxembourg City, the riders of the yellow-black brigade impressed by finishing in the top ten with Laporte, Lemmen, and Kelderman.

“We are happy about today,” team manager Maarten Wynants says. “The intention was to sprint with Laporte, and we succeeded. A dangerous leading group got the space, but with Tosh Van der Sande regularly in the lead, we were able to close the gap. Unfortunately, Christophe then faced a strong Mathieu van der Poel in the sprint.”

"With three riders in the top ten, we have a good perspective for the general classification"

Maarten Wynants

“With three riders in the top ten, we have a good perspective for the general classification,” Wynants continued. "Bart and Wilco already rode strongly today despite being at the start in Canada last weekend. With the time trial and difficult stages still to come, things are looking good. Also, Christophe still has a chance to do a good GC.”

Lemmen, who already showed his good form last weekend in Canada, is happy with his performance today. “Somehow I expected to have good legs, but it's nice that I can show it in a strong field. We now have three riders well placed in the general classification, and there are still some nice stages coming up where there are opportunities.”

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