Demanding Mathieu "I'm not going for the GC" Van der Poel faces tough competition from Ayuso and Vansevenant

Mathieu van der Poel and Juan Ayuso were the major winners of stage four in the Tour of Luxembourg. The Spaniard riding for UAE Team Emirates lived up to his favorite status in an individual time trial, propelling him to second place in the overall standings. Van der Poel had to disappoint Ayuso, as the Dutch Alpecin-Deceuninck star holds a three-second lead heading into the final day, thanks to an outstanding time trial.

Tackling a challenging 15.5-kilometer course, Van der Poel only conceded nineteen seconds to former specialist Ayuso. "A time trial is always tough, and today it was really hard going up to the top of the climb. I managed to keep my pace, but I lacked some freshness afterward to ride the pace I wanted all the way to the finish line."

"I knew the first part suited me well because aerodynamics were less important there," Van der Poel continued his analysis in the flash interview. "From there, it was very fast, so the aero guys had an advantage over me. However, I can be quite satisfied with my time trial, the result, and how I felt on the bike. I'm glad that I’m recovering well."

Now that he enters the final day with the yellow jersey on his shoulders, Van der Poel can't help but aim for the overall victory. He had put the general classification aside in the past few days, but now he smiles when asked about it. "I can fight for the GC now, although that was never the main goal. We'll see how the race unfolds on Sunday. I'm missing three teammates due to illness, but the Tour of Luxembourg is already a success for me."

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Ayuso happy with stage win but misses the leader's jersey

Due to Van der Poel's excellent performance, Ayuso missed out on a double victory. The Spaniard seemed on track to take the overall lead for much of the race, but now heads into the final race day with a three-second deficit to the Dutchman. Mauri Vansevenant – who started the time trial as the GC leader – also needs to make up the same amount of time on Van der Poel. "We're not in the lead, so we’ll have to try something," said a determined Ayuso. "We'll do our best to win the race."

The time trial win was still a huge boost for the climber, who had to drop out of the Tour de France with COVID-19 and missed the Vuelta a España. "It was full throttle from the start. When I saw the course this morning, I thought it was beautiful. I had good legs, so I knew I had a chance to win. Aerodynamics were important, but you also need strong legs on the climb to make the difference. Today I had both, which is why I won here."

Vansevenant, as expected, lost a lot of time, but the Belgian Soudal-Quick Step rider still has every chance to grab the overall victory on Sunday. He is only three seconds behind Van der Poel, which he believes is achievable. "The time trial is not my specialty, that’s no secret. That didn’t stop me from going full throttle. I knew my chances of keeping the yellow jersey were slim, but I fought hard and am still on the podium. The gaps are small, so I’ll fight for it until the end on Sunday."