Alpecin-Premier Tech did not select Tibor del Grosso to ride the cobbled classics this year but its not due to his form. The young Dutchman has put on a stellar performance to win the Volta NXT Classic this afternoon in the Netherlands ahead of Mauro Schmid.
In 2025 the race was won by Dion Smith and it is a classic that, due to its explosive nature, can end up being battled between the classic specialists or the sprinters, depending on how its raced. As it happened, this time around the story would start off with four riders in the breakaway: Samuele Zoccarato, Mads Andersen, Oscar Amey and Bram Danklof.
The action began in the peloton with around 100 kilometers to go, with splits starting to show and groups beginning to go up the road in the circuit. The breakaway was caught with 79 kilometers to go, showcasing well the speed that the peloton was moving at. This move was eventually shut down due to its danger, and other attacks continued to come from the numerous peloton.
However with 27 kilometers to go, two of the strongest in the race made their move and the difference: Tibor del Grosso and Mauro Schmid. A chasing group of around 20 ruders was formed but this included teammates of both, whilst the lack of clear favourites and the tricky terrain made it difficult to chase. The numbers game would not pay off and the two out front would maintain their gap all the way into Eijsden.
They would go on to fight for the victory in the final sprint and out of the two it was the Alpecin rider who had the best legs and took his first win of the season. Schmid was second whilst in the chasing group behind it was Casper Pedersen who sprinted to third place.
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