Two Soudal Quick-Step riders in the top ten overall after the opening stage.
Created almost a century ago, the Tour de Luxembourg is holding its 86th edition this week, and our team was among those lighting up the first day, which ended up being a selective one. Everyone was expecting the big moves to come on the last climb of the day, averaging 6.5% over 2.6 kilometers, and those slopes were enough for the peloton to split after just a few attacks.
Andrea Raccagni tried to follow one of these accelerations and ended up being part of a small chasing group, before the bunch came back, overhauling them. Soudal Quick-Step quickly got reorganized at the front, coming with four riders there and setting a tempo that chewed into the leading duo’s advantage, catching them four kilometers from the line.
The uphill finish was steep enough for differences to be made, and Jasper Stuyven - third at the Tour of Britain a few weeks ago - left it all out there en route to a solid fifth place, just two seconds behind winner Mathieu Van Der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck). Andrea Raccagni was also in the mix, concluding seventh and making Soudal Quick-Step the only World Tour team with two riders in the top ten overall.
Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images
