Van Poppel wins Tour of Luxembourg opener

Image 1 of 13

Danny van Poppel has won the prologue of the Tour of Luxembourg. The Trek Factory Racing rider was the only one to ride the 2.55 kilometre course under four minutes. Luxembourg riders Jempy Drucker (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) and Alex Kirsch (Leopard-Trek) rounded up the podium at 3 and 4 seconds from Van Poppel respectively.

The majority of the 103 starters faced heavy rain and thunder in the capital city of Luxembourg. The course, a combination of a fast descent, sharp corners and a cobbled climb turned into a treacherous obstacle course.

Winner van Poppel was the first of the last group of riders where the sun came out but the roads stayed wet. The Dutchman did however take some risks.

"I knew the course," van Poppel told Cyclingnews. "It's very well suited for me. Last year I was second at only one second."

In 2013 the youngest of the van Poppel brothers finished behind multiple prologue winner Jimmy Engoulvent. His current Europcar team are not present in Luxembourg this year which made van Poppel the man to watch out for.

"It made me the race favourite which made me very nervous. But I trained hard for this race. It's short and explosive. The cobbled climb is something I like. That's where I made the difference. And in the corners I took risks."

van Poppel was the only rider to finish under four minutes. It's his second win of his pro career. In March the 20-year old won the first stage in the Three Days of West Flanders. “It’s a special win. I focused on this day. If worked hard so I am very happy that it worked out," he concluded.

For Drucker the second place meant his tenth top ten place of the season. The Luxembourg sprinter now focuses on the sprint stages to come to net his first season victory.

Drucker will face André Greipel in the sprints. The Lotto Belisol riders was the last to start the prologue. "I won't take any risks," he said before the start. The German finished the race in 34th place.

Full Results