Mathieu van der Poel jumps back into Tour de Luxembourg lead: "I can be quite satisfied with my time trial"

Mathieu van der Poel won the opening stage of the Tour de Luxembourg and after two more strong days on the bike, he lost it to a tactically clever Mauri Vansevenant. However, during today's stage 4 time-trial, the Dutchman has found himself once again in the lead of the race after a strong effort.

"A time trial is always difficult and today it was very tough until the top of the climb. I managed to keep my pace, but then I lacked some freshness to really ride the pace that I wanted until the finish line," van der Poel said in a post-race interview. "I knew that the first part suited me, because aerodynamics were less important there". Over the first intermediate point the Dutchman was second only 4 seconds behind Juan Ayuso, but then lost time in the final portion of the time-trial and lost 19 in the end - overtaken by a few riders.

"From there it was very fast, so the aero guys had an advantage over me. However, I can be quite satisfied with my time trial, the result and the feeling on the bike. I am happy that I am recovering well," he admits. After Vansevenant struggled against the clock, van der Poel took advantage of his previously-built lead to return to the yellow jersey, although he has four riders within only 10 seconds of the race lead including UAE Team Emirates duo Juan Ayuso and Marc Hirschi who will be big threats.

"I can now fight for the classification, although that was never the main goal," he admits. "We will see how the race develops on Sunday. I am missing three teammates due to illness, but the Tour of Luxembourg is already a success for me". Tomorrow's stage sees the riders return to the city of Luxembourg and the hilly finale will suit him very well.