Two years after his frustrating second place, Jempy Drucker (BMC) finally managed to win the traditional Tour de Luxembourg prologue. Covering the 2.8km distance in 4.20, the local rider was three seconds faster than Maurits Lammertink (Roompot) and four seconds faster than his teammate Tom Bohli which was enough to take both the victory and the first leader’s jersey.

 

We have gathered several reactions.

 

Jempy Drucker: The rain was an advantage for me

It was a fitting end to the SkodaTour de Luxembourg prologue with Luxembourg rider, Jempy Drucker taking victory and claiming the first leader's jersey of the race.

 

Wet and slippery conditions made the short, technical course even more challenging for riders but Drucker was able to battle the weather to set and early benchmark of 4'20 which was unmatched by any other rider along the 2.9km course. 

 

Tom Bohli was also in the mix at the top of the leaderboard as he finished third, 4 seconds back.

 

"It's nice,” Drucker said. “I have't won many races yet so I feel really happy to win today. It's even better to win in Luxembourg as don't get a lot of chances to race here so to do a good prologue and go into the leader's jersey is great.

 

"It definitely gives me an extra boost going into tomorrow's stage as well as looking forward to the rest of the week knowing that I will be wearing the leader's jersey. It's a late night tonight but it's the same for everyone so there is no disadvantage. We just have to rest up and prepare as best we can for tomorrow.

 

"For me, it wasn't too bad that it was raining and wet as I am come from a cyclo-cross background. I know how to turn fast, keep up good speed and handle the bike well which was really important for me today. I left it all out there on the road and thankfully it paid of with the win.

 

"It was not so easy. I had to find the balance not to take too many risks and still go fast. If I had crashed the race could have been over for me."

 

Sport director, Jackson Stewart said: 

 

"We were a bit worried about the weather but as it turned out every rider had to ride in the rain so it made everyone a little bit nervous. Jempy took some good lines and he really knew his maximum effort on the cobbled climb. I think he timed everything really well and it was same with [Tom] Bohli, and the rest of the guys really.

 

"When it's wet you have to have another level of good bike handling skills and that's one of Jempy's strengths he is just an amazing bike handler. This prologue met exactly what he could do physically and combined with his knowledge of the roads and turns, he had everything he needed to do well. There is definitely a good morale amongst the team and now we have a jersey to try and defend so we will see how it goes from here."

 

Solid start for Ewan and Edmondson in Luxembourg prologue

ORICA-GreenEDGE made a promising start to the Tour de Luxembourg with a strong performance from Alex Edmondson in the opening 2.9kilometre prologue.

 

The 21-year-old track star excelled on the challenging, technical city centre race against the clock to finish in a respectable sixth place.

 

Sport director Matt Wilson was happy with the overall result which saw Jempy Drucker (BMC Racing Team) steal the victory in wet conditions.

 

"Caleb Ewan and Alex Edmondson had really strong rides," explained Wilson. "It's such a short race you have to start fast, you have to finish fast, so for these guys who were really being cautious on the corners they both finished really well.

 

"It was raining for the whole prologue, really terrible conditions. It was one of those days where it was dangerous, really wet, it had cobbles so we are happy that all the guys could get through safety." 

 

Local Stölting rider disappointed after Luxembourg prologue

The Skoda-Tour de Luxembourg (2.HC) started with a short evening prologue in the centre of the country’s capital. The 2.9 km offered several tight turns and a cobbled climb, Alex Kirsch posted the eleventh-best time on wet roads.

 

Both the Luxembourger and Mads Pedersen had elected for an early start time, hoping to be able to ride on dry roads. As it was, the rain began an hour before the first starter – this way, all riders had the same conditions.

 

Kirsch put up a time of 4:30 minutes, in the end this was good enough for 11th place. Pedersen could also get a good placing with his time of 4:40; Michael Reihs had the honour of being the last starter and finishing the first evening of racing.

 

“The rain started earlier than we hoped for, so Mads and I didn’t profit from our early starts in the end,” said Kirsch after the race. “After placing 3rd and 6th in the last years I had hoped for a better result, but in hindsight I can’t see where I could have gone faster. And the podium is six seconds away, so the others were simply better today. Tomorrow we’ll support Gerald [Ciolek] for the sprint; and then I expect BMC with Jempy – who was the pre-race favourite – to control the race, making it difficult to get away on the difficult stages.”

 

Successful return for Maciej Bodnar in Luxembourg prologue

In spite of the poor weather, it was an fine return to racing today for Maciej Bodnar. Returning to the team after a crash while preparing for the Ronde Van Vlaanderen, Bodnar was the fastest Tinkoff rider, posting a time of 4’40” on the 2.9km course.

 

Speaking from the finish, Bodnar was pleased with his time, but was looking forward to supporting his teammates in the coming days of racing.

 

“It was a really fast route in complete rain for all the riders - after two months out of racing after a crash like I had I was paying a bit more attention in the corners - it's normal after an accident like this. But it wasn't a bad effort and it's good to be back.”

 

Sport Director, Lars Michaelsen, was paying attention to the conditions and how the team was performing in the wet.

 

“The course was full on rain this evening. Adam [Blythe] was by far the fastest on the corners before the climb which was 12-15% on cobblestones, and that was where the differences were made. You needed both technique and power today, and Bodnar still had the power on the climb. We will see what tomorrow is like, a new stage for us.”

Like many riding the prologue, it was difficult to tell how they were feeling on such a short course, and so it was difficult to gauge form for the days ahead, as Bodnar explained.

 

“It was a short effort of under five minutes so was hard to tell how I really feel, and will take it day by day. I have had about a month of good training and now in this race I can get some intensity back in the legs. We will see tomorrow how it will be. I don't care about the rain - I just want to do a good race and help my teammates.”

 

Having posted a strong time on his first day back racing, Michaelsen was thrilled to see Bodnar back and posting a good time.

 

“It's great to have Bodnar back - he crashed at the start of April, and for two and a half weeks he was on just liquids. He's come a long way, and it's good to see him racing again.”

 

Slow start for ONE Pro Cycling in Luxembourg prologue

For ONE Pro Cycling, Steele Von Hoff was the first to roll off, setting a time of 5’05. Next up was John Ebsen who unfortunately required a bike change following a puncture on the final cobbled climb. Kiwi Hayden McCormick and Marcin Bialoblocki recorded the fastest times for ONE Pro Cycling finishing in 4’45 while the rest of the team put in a solid performance leaving them in a good position going into the first road stage tomorrow.