Fretin beats Dehairs in the sprint and wins the Tour of Limburg, Del Grosso impressed

After the spectacular cobblestone classics, we now focus on the hilly classics – but first, the Tour of Limburg. In this Belgian spring classic, the riders face obstacles for almost 180 kilometers. However, there is often a good chance of a sprint in Tongeren, something that top favorite Biniam Girmay surely will be aiming for.

After 25 kilometers, six riders attacked. The leading group – including Adam Toupalík representing Unibet Tietema Rockets – quickly built up a lead of over three minutes. When they reached the local course, that margin had even increased to almost four minutes.

The front group continued to work well together, and with 80 kilometers to go, they still had a comfortable lead of three minutes. But when the pace in the peloton picked up significantly with 65 kilometers to go, that lead rapidly dwindled. Meanwhile, several riders attempted to make the crossing to the front group.

Because the race opened up, the lead of the five breakaway riders was reduced to just one minute. With 55 kilometers left on the clock, the main contenders were at the front of the pack. Among them was Tibor Del Grosso. The young Dutchman pulled the pack and seemed to have made the first selection.

The peloton eventually came together and joined forces to chase the remaining leaders. Again, on one of the climbs, the Alpecin-Deceuninck riders showed themselves at the front, but their efforts proved insufficient to break up the peloton.

On the penultimate cobbled section, Del Grosso again showed himself. He rode towards the leaders in one swift move and immediately opened up a nice gap. This was also because his team was doing a great job. Their work to disrupt the peloton was impressive, so his lead grew steadily. But on the cobblestones of Op De Kriezel, the final obstacle, the gap closed. The strong Uruguayan Guillermo Silva (Caja Rural) pushed on, with Biniam Girmay and Jonas Rickaert on his wheel. Rickaert initially limited his efforts, but later he also pushed hard. He single-handedly closed the gap to his teammate.

Gianni Marchand (Tarteletto - Isorex) also crossed, so five men were at the front. The peloton was not far behind, but it had thinned out considerably. So, in the last 10 kilometers, it became a fair fight, which was eventually won by the pack, where Lidl-Trek did most of the work. They brought Tim-Torn Teutenberg as their sprinter, but Milan Menten (Lotto) and Milan Fretin (Cofidis) also showed up at the front. The latter was the first to sprint and beat his fellow countryman Simon Dehairs. This was his third victory of the season.