Engoulvent scoops early lead in Skoda Tour of Luxembourg via prologue success

Repeating his successes of 2007 and 2010, Frenchman Jimmy Engoulvent raced to a clear victory in today’s prologue of the Skoda Tour of Luxembourg. The 32 year old Saur Sojasun rider beat Gregory Rast (RadioShack Nissan) plus his own team-mate Jonathan Hivert by three seconds. Sky Procycling’s Mathew Hayman was five seconds back, while GC contender Jakob Fuglsang (RadioShack Nissan) was a further two seconds back in fifth.

Last year’s overall winner Linus Gerdemann (RadioShack Nissan) finished twenty seconds behind in 58th, losing considerable time over the short distance.

The 2.6 kilometre long prologue was one for the specialists. Known time trial experts like Alex Dowsett (Team Sky) and Maxime Monfort (Radioshack-Nissan-Trek) couldn't clock the fastest time on the mostly downhill course. Most riders used a regular road bike because of the sharp turns and the steep cobbled climb to the finish. The 300 meter stretch of cobbles made the prologue really explosive.

The best young rider was Tom Dumoulin of Argos-Shimano. The 21-year old Dutchman is a first year pro and finished seventh, seven seconds from the winner. "I checked Youtube to see what that climb was like,” he said afterwards, showing part of the efforts he made to be ready. “I saw images of Cancellara last year. It was everything my teammates told me it would be. The course suited me, short and explosive.

“I did a thorough recon and rode twice in the car when teammates were out on the course. I am glad it paid off. Of course, this is a nice prize and I hope I can defend the white jersey. In some years when I am stronger, I hope to ride for the win here."

The Tour of Luxembourg continues on Thursday with a 181 kilometer long stage from the capital to Hesperange. It has three categorised climbs but is likely to finish in a bunch sprint, as was the case in previous years.