Söderqvist takes narrow victory in Eneco Tour prologue
Jakob Söderqvist (Lidl-Trek) claimed victory in the opening prologue of the Eneco Tour, beating Wessel Mouris (Unibet Rose Rockets) by less than a second in a fiercely contested race against the clock in The Hague.
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The 3.14km evening prologue delivered a series of lead changes as riders battled for the first leader’s jersey of the race.
Unibet Rose Rockets made an early impression, with Hartthijs de Vries and Tomáš Kopecký both setting benchmark times. Kopecký's effort of 3:37 looked particularly strong until teammate Wessel Mouris raised the bar with a blistering ride.
The 23-year-old Dutchman averaged more than 52km/h to move into the lead, finishing four seconds ahead of Kopecký. His 19-year-old brother Michiel Mouris (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) also impressed, coming within two seconds of his time.
Several established names, including Ethan Hayter and Edoardo Affini, failed to better Mouris' mark. But Söderqvist delivered when it mattered most, finding just enough speed to snatch victory by the narrowest of margins.
The result denied Mouris a maiden professional win, but underlined an impressive opening performance from Unibet Rose Rockets, who placed multiple riders among the fastest in the Dutch capital.
Result Eneco Tour prologue
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