André Greipel proved that he is a class of his own in the Tour de Luxembourg sprints when he won yesterday's first stage of the race in commanding fashion. With the race heading into hillier terrain, however, the German doesn't expect to get more chances in the five-day event.
In 2012 André Greipel won the opening sprint stage of the Tour de Luxemourg in a bunch sprint and doubled his tally one day later. After a one-year absence - due to calendar change - the German is back in the five-day race and like two years ago he has got the race off to a great start by winning the first road stage.
Greipel stamped his authority on the race when his strong lead-out train delivered him perfectly on the front and he easily held off Michael Mørkøv and race leader Danny Van Poppel to take the win. Such was the dominance of the team that lead-out man Greg Henderson held onto fifth.
Greipel doesn't expect a repeat of the 2012 double though. The race now heads into hillier terrain and already today the riders face a slight uphill finish. Hence, Greipel is now ready to put himself in the service of his teammates.
"This was the only chance we would get for a bunch sprint this week and we took this opportunity. We are very happy with the stage victory," he said according to Cyclingnews. "We have other riders in the team who are good at these kind of tougher finals. I think it will be a bit too hard for me tomorrow."
If Greipel takes a back seat, the team is likely to look to Jurgen Roelandts, Pim Ligthart or possibly Henderson to come away with goods.
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