Successful dress rehearsal for the World Championships for Mathieu Van der Poel, who closes the Tour of Luxembourg the same way he opened it: by winning. The Dutch champion pulled off an authentic masterclass in the fifth stage of the race, the Mersch-Luxembourg - Limpertsberg route of 177 km. Behind him, more than a minute back, were Danish rider Mikkel Honoré and fellow Dutchman Pepijn Reinderink.

Davide Piganzoli also has reason to celebrate, as with today's fourth-place finish, he brilliantly defended his race leader's jersey and secured the overall victory.

THE RACE. Under rainy conditions, at least in the early stages, with numerous côtes to tackle ahead, after just three kilometers Mathieu Van der Poel accelerated, opened a gap, and went solo for the entire day to send a message to all his rivals ahead of the World Championships. Certainly, the Luxembourg start list wasn't of "world championship" caliber, but Van der Poel's performance was an impressive feat: targeted work in preparation for next Sunday's world championship showdown in Montreal.

THE WORDS. Disarmingly logical in his straightforward reasoning, Van der Poel's post-race comments were telling: "I found myself alone at the front early in the race. I simply rode at my own pace throughout the day. At first, I thought the riders behind me would catch up, but the gap kept increasing, so I decided to keep going solo". Said and done. And an impressive feat accomplished.

STAGE RESULTS

1. van der Poel Mathieu (Alpecin-Premier Tech) in 04:10:58
2. Honore Mikkel (EF Education-EasyPost) + 01:04
3. Reinderink Pepijn (Soudal Quick-Step) + 01:09
4. Piganzoli Davide (Team Visma | Lease a Bike)
5. Nerurkar Lukas (EF Education-EasyPost)
6. Vercher Mattéo (Team TotalEnergies) + 01:14
7. Kragh Andersen Søren (Lidl-Trek)
8. Gachignard Thomas (Team TotalEnergies)
9. L'Hote Antoine (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) + 01:18
10. Paret-Peintre Aurélien (Decathlon CMA CGM Team)

FINAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Piganzoli Davide (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) in 16:22:17
2. Vercher Mattéo (Team TotalEnergies) + 52
3. Gachignard Thomas (Team TotalEnergies) + 54
4. Paret-Peintre Aurélien (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) + 01:03
5. Arrieta Igor (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) + 01:25
6. Graat Tijmen (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) + 02:11
7. Kragh Andersen Søren (Lidl-Trek) + 02:16
8. Oomen Sam (Lidl-Trek) + 02:17
9. Reinderink Pepijn (Soudal Quick-Step) + 02:24
10. Behrens Eike (Team Lotto-Kern Haus Outlet Montabaur) + 02:33