New Zealander Corbin Strong is the strongest in Kirchberg in Luxembourg

New Zealander Corbin Strong won the first stage of the Tour de Luxembourg, which was held on Wednesday for a distance of 156.4 kilometers around Luxembourg City. The racer from the Israel-Premier Tech team took the leader’s jersey in the general classification ahead of his runner-up in the sprint race, Dane Søren Krage Andersen (Alpecen-Deseuninck) and Spaniard Alex Arnburu (Movistar).

In the bonus game, Strong is now 4 seconds ahead of Kragh Andersen and 6 ahead of Aranburu. The rest of the team followed in 10 seconds, including Tiesj Benoot (5th) and Ilan van Wilder (10th).

Four riders led today’s breakaway: Lennert Teugels (Pingual WP), Vito Praet (Flanders-Paloise), Latvia’s Chris Nylands (Israel-Premier TIC) and Luxembourg’s Mats Wenzel (Leopard TOGT). The Runaways’ advantage peaked after more than six minutes before fading. The last survivors, Teogels and Wenzel, held out on the bumpy track at the end of the race, until 12 kilometers from the finish, while the peloton attacked the Staffelter hill (2 km up 7.4%).

Camille Bonneau (Flanders-Paloise), Canadian Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech), Austrian Gregor Muehlberger (Movistar), and Frenchman Alexis Guerin (Pingual WP) took advantage of the difficulty to gain a slight advantage. The group re-integrated 2 km from the goal.

A lowered peloton appeared at the finish line of the straight. Corbin Strong, who is accustomed to medals on the track, was quick to raise his arms on the Kirchberg Hill and celebrate the second success of his road career.

The second stage of the Tour de Luxembourg will be contested on Thursday between Mondorf-les-Bains and Mamre over a distance of 183.9 kilometres. It should be favorable for runners.