Credit: Elza Osmane, Chronicle.lu

On Thursday 17 September 2026, the Škoda Tour de Luxembourg held the second stage of its five-day race across the Grand Duchy, covering 166.8 km from Niederkorn to Junglinster.

The Netherlands’ Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) claimed victory in Junglinster.

The route took riders from Niederkorn towards the Mousel climb before continuing through the Müllerthal region and the historic town of Echternach. They then headed to Junglinster for the finishing circuit, with the climbs of Berdorf and Waldbillig among the day’s main difficulties.

A five-rider breakaway formed shortly after the start in Niederkorn, featuring Maël Guegan (CIC Pro Cycling Academy), Steyn van der Veen (Metec – Solarwatt p/b Mantel), Mauro Brenner (Rembe | Rad-net), Conrad Haugsted (Team ColoQuick) and Luxembourg’s Mats Berns (National Team Luxembourg). 

Joshua Amos Gudnitz and Sebastian Nielsen (Team ColoQuick) later joined the breakaway, bringing the leading group to seven riders. With 39.8 km remaining, they held a lead of 1 minute 18 seconds over the peloton.

On the final circuit around Junglinster, the leading group was reduced to three Team ColoQuick riders. The peloton briefly split into several groups around 20 km from the finish, with repeated attacks in the main group, before the remaining breakaway riders were caught.

The stage was decided in a bunch sprint in Junglinster, where Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) claimed victory in 3:50:12. Timo Kielich (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) finished second, followed by Pierre Gautherat (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) in third place. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech), who started the stage in the yellow leader’s jersey, crossed the line in fifth place.

“Last year I was already second. Yesterday I was third, so I needed this one now,” said stage winner Marijn van den Berg.

Reflecting on the final sprint, the Dutch rider explained that he had lost his teammate’s wheel shortly before the last corner but regained it with 600 metres to go. He admitted that he launched his sprint slightly too early but continued to push towards the finish. “Luckily I had something in the legs still. And the last 25 metres I felt them coming, but I really wanted this victory,” he said.

Van den Berg also recalled breaking his arm in the spring, which prevented him from competing in the Classics. He noted that he sometimes takes on a lead-out role for a teammate but remains determined to pursue his own results. “I’m super happy I can finish it off now. And this makes my season a bit better,” he added.

Luxembourg’s Mathieu Kockelmann (National Team Luxembourg) finished tenth. Reflecting on the stage, he praised his team’s efforts and explained that the climbs, fast descent and crosswind sections had made positioning particularly important. He also noted that he had been caught behind another rider when the peloton first split but managed to rejoin the group.

“I mean, we can be proud with the top 10. I mean, there's still some days, so we still have some chances,” Mathieu Kockelmann told Chronicle.lu, adding that he hoped either he or another Luxembourg rider could achieve another strong result in the remaining stages.

Following the second stage, Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) took the lead in the general classification with a total time of 7:35:40. Pierre Gautherat (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) moved into second place, four seconds behind, while Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) dropped to third, also four seconds behind the leader.

Pierre Gautherat led the young riders’ classification, while Conrad Haugsted (Team ColoQuick) topped the mountains classification with thirteen points, level with teammate Malte Hellerup. Team Visma | Lease a Bike remained at the top of the team classification.

On Friday 18 September 2026, the third stage will take riders from Wiltz to Diekirch over 179.6 km, with an elevation gain of 3,171 m. The route will head north towards Weiswampach before turning south towards Diekirch. The organisers have designated it the Queen Stage of this year’s race, with numerous climbs and the most demanding terrain of the week.

(Caption: (L-R) Mathiue Kockelmann, Luxembourg National Team; Credit: Elza Osmane)