Mathieu van der Poel takes first victory since Paris-Roubaix (!) in opening stage of 2024 Tour de Luxembourg

Mathieu van der Poel has taken his first victory since Paris-Roubaix on the opening stage of the 2024 Tour de Luxembourg, moving into the leader's jersey as a result.

Four riders got themselves into the break of the day, the most notable being Mattia Bais of Team Polti Kometa. Although there were still more than 81km to go, Vincent Van Hemelen dropped away from the break, leaving just a trio up ahead. Heading into the final 40km though, the number had dropped again with just Bais and Pepijn Reinderink, still more than four minutes clear of the peloton.

As the leading duo continued to roll through together, heading into the final 15km, their advantage still remained over the minute mark. On the last climb of the day though, Bais and Reinderink were caught and it was all together again going into the finale. With a reduced bunch uphill sprint then deciding the day, Mathieu van der Poel was first to launch and in his final race in the Rainbow Jersey before his defence of the cron, the Dutchman powered to victory ahead of Christophe Laporte and Andreas Kron.