Skoda Tour de Luxembourg 2023 – Stage 4

It is time for the time trial in Luxembourg.

Route

A fairly simple time trial where there are not too many corners.

Weather

Racing near Pétange. First rider down the ramp 15:45 local time, last man (Healy) at 17:40. This time trial will likely take half an hour more or less. Local rain makes it difficult really. Does that mean the roads are even wetter at 17:00 or they start to dry up at around 18:00? I will assume everyone has the same rainy conditions. The wind does become lighter, which should suit the late starters.

Contenders

Healy – he will be happy with his margin, it should be something he realistically can defend. He burned some matches today. He has a 3rd in Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali time trial. He will have to hope he will have another one of those days.

SKA – with his form looking extremely good, I hope to see him perform well at this discipline. Just a few years ago, he would have been the overwhelming favorite for this stage.

Jorgensen – glad to see him back racing at this level. It will be difficult tomorrow, but he has a realistic shot at a top-5.

Van Wilder – sits 55 seconds down. He didn’t hope for that. Tomorrow is where he will hope to take a lot of that back. He will likely end on the podium tomorrow.

McNulty – looked good today, good enough for me to challenge for the podium. He hasn’t really been at his best since the Giro d’Italia. With his recent 4th at Worlds, he will hope he can challenge for the win tomorrow.

Hirschi – he will finish better than many expect. I assume near 5th place.

Who will win?

A battle between Van Wilder and McNulty. I will take a win for the American, his shape is growing just now.