Home Triumph for Mathieu Kockelmann in Stage 2 of Škoda Tour de Luxembourg

On Thursday 18 September 2025, the Škoda Tour de Luxembourg held the second stage of its five-day race across the Grand Duchy, covering 168.4 km from Remich to Mamer.

Luxembourg’s Mathieu Kockelmann (National Team Luxembourg) delighted home fans by taking a memorable victory in Mamer.

According to event president Andy Schleck, this stage was designed with sprinters in mind, featuring under 2,000 metres of climbing “not an easy task in Luxembourg.” He explained that after two early climbs in the Moselle region, the course heads west, with a final hill 45 km from the finish unlikely to trouble sprinters. “The concluding 15 km circuit, tackled twice, will give teams plenty of time to organise. The finish is set in front of the house of Nicolas Frantz, double Tour de France winner, at the end of a nearly 1 km slightly uphill finishing straight,” he added.

Wearing the leader’s jersey after his Stage 1 victory, 22-year-old Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) lined up as the man to beat in Remich. Stage 2 saw several breakaway attempts animate the race, first with a group of seven riders including Luxembourg’s Mil Morang (National Team Luxembourg) and Loïc Bettendorff (Hrinkow Advarics). Later, four riders - Baptiste Gillet (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Jonas Geens (Team Flanders-Baloise), Victor Papon (Wagner Bazin WB) and Bettendorff - built a gap that held until the final kilometres.

In the closing stretch in Mamer, the peloton came back together and the stage was decided in a fast sprint finish. To the delight of the home crowd, Luxembourg’s Mathieu Kockelmann (National Team Luxembourg) claimed victory in 3:48:47. Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) followed six seconds later, with Thibaud Donnenwirth (Groupama-FDJ) taking third, four seconds behind.

After his victory, Mathieu Kockelmann explained that he had to rely on his own strength in the final sprint, as his lead-out rider was spent from the earlier breakaway. “He told me I could do it - I had already managed it at the Tour de l’Avenir, so I knew I had the legs and that this finish suited me,” he said, noting that he stayed calm and timed his sprint perfectly.

Reflecting on his career, the 21-year-old Luxembourger described the win as a major milestone. “I was European junior champion in the time trial, but the years after were very difficult. To be back at this level, after the Tour de l’Avenir and now here, is huge for me,” he added.

Romain Grégoire crossed the line in 16th place but retained the yellow leader’s jersey in the general classification. He leads overall in 7:29:22, with Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) just four seconds back and Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) also four seconds adrift.

(Caption: Mathieu Kockelmann, National Team Luxembourg; Credit: Ali Sahib, Chronicle.lu)