Team Colombia-Coldeportes came close to the stage win for the second day in a row in the fourth and closing stage of the Skoda Tour de Luxembourg, Mersch-Luxembourg of 156 km: it was Leonardo Duque who took part in the 6-man action that ended up contesting the win on the day. Only Belgian Sean De Bie (Lotto-Soudal) managed to leave Duque behind, while Bjorn Leukemans (Wanty-Gobert) had to settle for third.

German Linus Gerdemann (Cult Energy) finished in the main bunch, securing the overall win. Two Colombia-Coldeportes riders finished in the overall top-15: Miguel Angel Rubiano, 10th at 1.01, and Fabio Duarte, 11th at 1.04. Duarte also celebrated the best climber’s jersey – the sixth of the season for Claudio Corti’s team – ahead of Rodolfo Torres, who put on a great show in the third stage, when only 100 metres kept him away of a deserved solo win. In addition, Team Colombia-Coldeportes won the overall teams classification.

In the final stage, Duque moved on the attack along with Kenneth van Bilsen (Cofidis), Jimmy Engoulvent (Europcar), Jaco Venter (MTN-Qhubeka), Frédéric Brun (Bretagne-Séché), Simone Antonini (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Björn Leukemans (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Olivier Chevalier (Wallonie-Bruxelles), Antoine Demoitié (Wallonie-Bruxelles) and Kristian Haugaard (Leopard), but the leading group got reduced to 6 men along the way, while the peloton was in no need to chase hard with no significant GC threats, and got home 43 seconds after the sprint that saw De Bie prevail ove Duque.

Team Colombia-Coldeportes showed amazing determination  at Skoda Tour de Luxembourg, an important test for the riders and the staff on the long build-up for the Vuelta a Espana.

“Two times we saw a possible win fade away late on, and I think we would have deserved it," Sports Director Valerio Tebaldi said. “Apart from the first stage, when we probably needed to find the rhythm after a couple of weeks without races, we have sparkled the race every day: with Rubiano, Duarte, Torres, Duque, and all of their teammates, who did a great work in support. With this approach, victory won’t be elusive for much longer.”

Two more stage races await the Escarabajos in June, both from the 18th to the 21st: Tour de Slovenie and Route du Sud, in France.