Tibor Del Grosso takes second pro win in NXT Classic
Tibor Del Grosso secured his second professional win on Saturday at the NXT Classic. The Dutch rider sealed the deal in Eijsden against top favorite Mauro Schmid, with whom he had broken away 27 kilometers from the finish. Casper Pedersen finished third.
Although the NXT Classic in 2026 had no live broadcast, the Limburg race was one to look forward to. The organizers could count on a strong field, including Del Grosso, Schmid, Senna Remijn, Bart Lemmen, Frits Biesterbos, and Wilco Kelderman.
Along the way, the riders had to conquer 196 kilometers and 2400 vertical meters over well-known Limburg climbs like the Kutersteenweg (1.2 km at 3.3%), the Mheerelindje (500 meters at 6.5%), the Hoesberg (500 meters at 5.5%), and the Kalleberg (500 meters at 5.2%).
In the opening phase of the race, we saw a breakaway form with Samuele Zoccarato, Mads Andersen, Oscar Amey, and Bram Danklof making a move. The four upfront worked well together, but at 110 kilometers from the finish, the British rider Amey had to drop back. After that, the Italian, the Dane, and the Dutchman kept pushing hard, while unrest gradually grew in the peloton.
At just under 99 kilometers to go, the peloton split into two groups. For several riders in the front group, that was the signal to launch an attack shortly after. At 86 kilometers from the finish, Del Grosso, Tobias Bayer, Frits Biesterbos, Quinten Hermans, Siebe Deweirdt, Bart Lemmen, and Davide De Pretto bridged up to the three riders ahead.
This escape didn’t last long, as everything came back together at 56 kilometers from the finish, and the race awaited the next attack in the peloton, where the pace had already taken a toll and more than one hundred riders had been dropped.
Del Grosso and Schmid go on the attack
On the Schilberg with 27 kilometers remaining, the decisive move seemed to unfold. Del Grosso and Schmid managed to break away by more than forty seconds from the peloton, which was now down to just nineteen riders. Among this group were names like Pascal Eenkhoorn, Bart Lemmen, Stan Van Tricht, Senna Remijn, Huub Artz, Milan Vader, and Casper Pedersen.
The final kilometers remained tense as this group closed the gap on Del Grosso and Schmid to twenty seconds. However, the Swiss and the Dutchman held their ground. In the sprint, Del Grosso ultimately took the win, securing his second professional victory after a stage in the Tour of Turkey.
