Groenewegen triumphs in the 76th edition of Ronde van Limburg
Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen sprinted his way to victory on the Eeuwfeestwal in Tongeren. He won the 76th edition of the Ronde van Limburg ahead of Ballerstedt and De Lie.
The 76th edition of the Ronde van Limburg set off at 12:15 from the Kolonel Dusartplein in Hasselt, bathed in glorious sunshine. After the starting shot sounded, a ride of some 196 km towards Tongeren lay in store for the riders, with the finish line on the Eeuwfeestwal as in previous years.
The traditional early breakaway formed about 45 km into the race at the first climb of the Keiberg. Van Bekkum (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), Malecki (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) and Thalmann (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) rode away on the local lap near Alden Biesen. On the second climb of the Keiberg, Kerkhaert (BEAT Cycling Team) tried to make his way to the front, but without success.
By the end of the race’s first hour, the riders had covered a distance of just over 48 km. The peloton started to slow down and the lead of the frontrunners increased to 3 minutes and 10 seconds. In the following hours of the race, the lead dwindled to half a minute with 55 or so km to go. At that point, Nisbet (Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team) managed to ride away from the peloton to the front. By doing so, he made it a leading group of four.
In the peloton, Team Jayco AlUla set the pace for leader Groenewegen. On the third climb of the Zammelenberg, the story of the early breakaway was over and done with. The peloton started the final local lap in a tight formation, and spectacle followed not long after during the final passage on the Manshoven cobblestones. Nortoft (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) and Pellaud (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) succeeded in pulling away. On the cobblestones of Op de Kriezel, Pellaud forged ahead by himself. His lead? 11 seconds. In other words, the peloton had the situation perfectly under control.
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Some 14 km from the line, Pellaud’s foray was over. The peloton was getting ready for the traditional sprint on the Eeuwfeestwal in Tongeren. On the final climb of the Kolmontberg, Van der Sande (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) was another rider to set off on his own. On the Zammelenberg, it was Vermote (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) who caught up with his teammate, bringing the peloton back together. Together with Artz (Intermarché-Wanty) and Beltran (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), he provided chaotic scenes in the final 5 km.
In the peloton, it was Uno-X Mobility that set the pace. But Eriksson (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) and Van De Putte (Deschacht-Hens-Maes) opted to counterattack and rode up to the leaders, who had in the meantime gone completely off the boil. Meanwhile, in the peloton, it was full steam ahead for the sprinters. The attackers were caught a little less than 3 km from the finish.
With the last corner in sight, the riders were pulling out all the stops. Finally, it was Groenewegen (Jayco – AlUla) who dived into the last corner as the leader and sprinted fluently to victory on the Eeuwfeestwal. He clinched the win ahead of Ballerstedt (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and De Lie (Lotto Dstny).
