Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) wins the 2024 Tour de Luxembourg with a final stage late attack(Image credit: Getty Images)
The peloton including leader Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) on the final stage(Image credit: Getty Images)
Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) attacks with Van der Poel marking(Image credit: Getty Images)
The late attack of David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), and Tiberi(Image credit: Getty Images)
Tiberi and Gaudu on the move(Image credit: Getty Images)
Tiberi leads the late attack move that saw him seal the overall win(Image credit: Getty Images)
Gaudu strikes out for the stage win(Image credit: Getty Images)
David Gaudu celebrates the stage win in Luxembourg(Image credit: Getty Images)
A dramatic closing stage at the Tour de Luxembourg has seen Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) walk away with the overall victory, with the Italian overturning a 10-second deficit to race leader Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in Luxembourg.
The 23-year-old scores his first career stage race victory after getting away in a late move inside the final 10km of the hilly 176.9km stage.
He finished fourth on the day, though with his group crossing the line 26 seconds up on Van der Poel, it was more than enough to snatch away the win at the conclusion of five days of racing.
David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) won the final stage from the late attack, beating Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) and Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) to the line by three seconds.
As for the final standings, Tiberi comes out on top with a 15-second gap to Van der Poel, while Gaudu also moves up four places to round out the overall podium, 16 seconds down.
Only four classified climbs dotted the route between Mersch and Luxembourg, but with over 3,100 metres of elevation gain, there were plenty more hills and rises on the final stage of the Tour de Luxembourg.
The tricky parcours saw attacking from the off, including a breakaway of GC favourites early on which saw Van der Poel briefly try a solo attack. Of course, such a move wouldn't last, and eventually a three-man group broke clear to form the break of the day.
Johannes Staune-Mittet (Visma-Lease A Bike), Archie Ryan (EF Education-EasyPost) and Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar) got in the move as the trio gained three minutes on the peloton with Lidl-Trek and Soudal-QuickStep leading the chase behind.
Despite the early skirmishes, there would be no further long-range attacking before the closing local circuit in Luxembourg. Two sets of bonus seconds were up for grabs on the hilly lap, though the breakaway riders swept up the first lot 25km from the line.
The move came to an end as UAE Team Emirates upped the pace heading into the last two laps of the circuit, with their man Marc Hirschi attempting a move before the closing lap. He was tracked by Van der Poel as well as former leader Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal-QuickStep), with the latter duo taking one and two bonus seconds at the second sprint behind Wilco Kelderman (Visma-Lease A Bike).
More attacks flew on the closing lap, with Van der Poel forced on the defensive. He couldn't stop every move, however, and so a group including Tiberi, Kelderman and Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) managed to build a small gap.
Tiberi wasn't prepared to settle, though, and so the Italian launched a major attack to capture the overall lead inside the final 10km of the race. Simmons, Gaudu and Jegat went along and the strong group managed to build their lead to 40 seconds.
Behind, Van der Poel attacked over the last climb of the race, with only Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) able to match his acceleration. It was too little, too late for the world champion, though. Despite dragging back around 10 seconds on Tiberi, he'd still cross the line too far back to defend his leader's jersey.
Out front, Gaudu attacked late for the stage win and, as it turned out, the final spot on the race podium, while Tiberi could celebrate a milestone with his first stage race triumph.
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, joining in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.
Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel. Their favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.
