Eijsden hosted the start and finish of the 51st edition of the NXT Classic. The riders faced a 196-kilometer route over the rolling Limburg roads, featuring around twenty climbs in total. Team Visma | Lease a Bike lined up with a mix of experience and young talent. The yellow-and-black squad included Wilco Kelderman, Bart Lemmen, Pietro Mattio, Anton Schiffer, Ashlin Barry, Mikal Grumstad Uglehus, and Taillieu.  

A breakaway of four riders animated the opening phase of the race. On the tough course, the peloton was gradually thinned out as well. On the climbs, the bunch split into several groups multiple times. Among others, Taillieu and Lemmen remained alert and positioned themselves in the front group. Kelderman suffered several setbacks and lost contact as a result. With more than fifty kilometers to go, everything came back together. Not long after, a strong leading group formed, including Taillieu, Lemmen, and other favorites.  

In the finale, Del Grosso and Mauro Schmid managed to break away from the front group. The duo stayed clear of the chasers. In a two-man sprint in the streets of Eijsden, Del Grosso ultimately proved to be the strongest. In the chasing group, Taillieu sprinted to an impressive sixth place.  

“Aldo’s sixth place was the best we could achieve today,” said sports director Robert Wagner. “As a team, we had a lot of bad luck. Wilco had to change bikes twice due to a flat tire, and Pietro and Ashlin also suffered punctures. With about 130 kilometers still to go, Anton was involved in a crash, which meant we lost a rider early on.”  

“We entered the finale with Aldo and Bart in a strong position,” Wagner added. “It was too tough to respond to the attack from Del Grosso and Schmid. Those two stood out today, we have to acknowledge that. It’s great to see Aldo take sixth place in a challenging race like this. He’s only in his second season at the U23 level and his first with our team. This result will give him a lot of confidence heading into next week’s Paris-Roubaix Espoirs.”