Lotto-Soudal's John Degenkolb won the sprint for the third stage of the Tour de Luxembourg in Cifrangie on Thursday, avenging the disappointment of having to leave this year's Tour de France after a crash in the opening stage in Nice forced him to finish outside the time limit. He made up for the disappointment of having to leave this year's Tour de France.

Degenkolb injured his knee in a crash on the first stage of the Tour de France in rainy and slippery conditions, and teammate Philippe Gilbert also left the race with a broken knee. Like Degenkolb, however, Gilbert recovered quickly and is now racing in Luxembourg.

"Thanks to my teammates I was able to avoid the wind and we had good teamwork," Degenkolb said on the team website after Thursday's victory.

"In the last kilometer, Tosh Van der Sande led me. I am very, very happy with my victory over Belgians Eduard Michael Gross (Nippo Delco One Provence) and Pieter Van Speybroeck (Circus Wantigovert). I'm happy to give back to the team and it feels special because it's my first win in Lotto Soudal."

"This victory comes just 19 days after my crash on the opening stage of the Tour. This victory shows that I've been in really good shape since the beginning of the Tour. My knee is feeling better and I don't feel any pain at the moment. [In particular, Tomasz Marzynski and Herm Vanhocke were unable to start this morning due to quarantine. This was a setback for Lotto Soudal and we started the stage with four riders.

Polish rider Marczynski was showing symptoms of coronavirus, and as a precautionary measure it was decided to send him, his roommate Herm Vanhoekke, and the Lotto-Soudal staff who had been in contact with him home from the race, but later the COVID-19 test results were found to be negative.

"There is still a chance left for the team in the next two stages, but not for me," Degenkolb admitted. 'I will support Tim [Wellens], Tosh, and Phil in the next stages. Tim is getting better and better, and he's a good contender for the overall.

Wellens crashed in training a week before this year's Tour de France and missed the race with shoulder, elbow, and knee injuries.

"I've been selected for the World Championships next week," Degenkolb added, "and the elite men's road race in Imola, Italy, on Sunday, September 27, will be a hilly race. But my victory today proves that I am in good shape. The course in Imola doesn't suit my characteristics, so I'll be riding in a support role for Germany."