Jungels doubles up on Luxembourg national titles

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Trek Factory Racing’s Bob Jungels proved his form ahead of the Tour de France by winning both the time trial and road race at the Luxembourg National Championships last weekend.

The 22-year-old won the time trial on Thursday ahead of BMC Racing's Jempy Drucker, then followed it with the road race win on Sunday in Wiltz, where he soloed in ahead of decimated field that staggered across the line one rider at a time.

“We knew we had to make a hard race so it did not come to a sprint,” he said. “So Ben Gastauer (Ag2R-La Mondiale) attacked from the start line, so straight away we went full gas up a small climb and at the top we were only four guys left and we did the whole race with the four of us.

“After that is was an elimination race, which suited me. We lost one guy with 60kms to go, and then another we could see was struggling on the climbs each lap and so in the end it came down to Gaustauer and me.”

Jungels eventually shed Gastauer to solo into the Luxembourg Champion’s jersey by 1:24. Gastauer held on for second, and Pit Schlechter (Leopard Development Team) was third.

This is the second double title for Jungels, who won both races during his first elite nationals in 2013.

“In 2013, it was my first year professional so that was really special for me, but I think this year I was the favorite,” he said. “A lot of people expected it, and that is not always easy because you have a lot of riders against you. And now this year I get to wear the jersey in the Tour, and that is really, really special.

“It’s always nice to race at home and then to take both jerseys is always special. And now to take them to the Tour [de France] is overwhelming. It’s always nice to have it and then to show it in the Tour is really big.”