157 rider lined up on the start, ready to tackle the Luxembourgian countryside ahead.
The day's break formed shortly after the flag drop, and all was quite civil in the forming of the group. 5 riders attacked, no more afterwards, and the peleton let them go with no issues.
Up the road we would have:
Cohen Tolhoek Vlasov Vangstad Schreurs
Vesuvio, Air France, T-Mobile and Spar were the main team who set themselves up for a long day on the front, with the odd other team offering there support.
The break's lead would reach a peak of 6'44" over the first third of the race, as everyone nicely settled into their rhythm.
100km to go and Moser would give their assistance to the chase at the front. Over the first major climbs of the day, and the gap to the break was already down to 4'20".
The break's work continued to be of the highest level, working well together and setting a great tempo.
Jump forward to the 40km to go mark, and the break still had 2'40" gap over the peleton. Just 85 riders remained in the peleton, so not like they are taking it easy... First cracks in the break appear though, as Schreurs is unable to hold the pace.
Another 10km later and still the break remains over 2 minutes in advantage. With just under 30km to go, and with the bigger climbs out the way, could they hang on to the end for a shock result?
The peleton is in tatters as the pressure is ramped up on the road. Just 40 riders or so remained in the 'main group' but many riders are out the back, never really making it back into contention.
The last 'climb' of the day and ramps of 13% welcomed the riders. The break was down to just over a minute, and Spar with David and Vesuvio with Reimer were pretty much sprinting up the hill.
Here we go!! 15km to go and the favourites make their move. Hagen goes first, followed by Sagan, Lutsenko and Gastauer.
The break's time off the front was over, and after they looked really strong with 30km to go, they were no more with 15km to go...
Hagen, Sagan and Lutsenko would form a group with Vlasov and Vangstad off the front, with the latter just trying to hang on.
The group behind was full of favourites, but with 10km to go, they were battling for the minor places at this moment in time.
ATTACK HAGEN! The Norwegian is not wanting his fellow companions to follow him to the line and is doing all he can to lose them!
It is no good, and on the climb to the line, all 3 will be contesting the sprint. No-one is wanting to lead out the others, but it was Hagen who drilled the group into the base of the climb.
In sight of the flamme rouge, Sagan goes all out of the win. Hagen is looking like he has blown, whilst Lutsenko has gone on the wrong wheel...
VICTORY SAGAN! The Slovak takes a great win for the Moser team, picking the right moments to follow moves initially before going at the perfect time to take the win.
Lutsenko will take 2nd place, ahead of a disappointed Hagen in 3rd place.
A late attack by Van Garderen missed by the cameras given the action up front, and he is rewarded with a 4th place finish.
Skujins would not repeat last year's podium, but a Top 5 finish will be his prize for 2019.
Vakoc takes 6th ahead of Demare, whilst Claeys take 8th place for his PCT team
Furdi finishes 9th, and local hero Gastauer can only come home in 10th place after looking so strong when the initial attacks with 15km out happened.
Classique du Grand-Duché 
