Groenewegen sixth in opening stage BinckBank Tour
Dylan Groenewegen hasn’t been able to sprint for the win in the first stage of the BinckBank Tour. The rider of Team LottoNL-Jumbo finished sixth in Bolsward.
“A chaotic sprint”, sports director Nico Verhoeven said. “There was no control in the final. Fabio Jakobsen was the only one who came out well and could sprint to victory.”
According to Verhoeven, the chaos wasn’t the reason that Groenewegen didn’t win. “I think Dylan didn’t have good legs today. That makes sense as he was forced to abandon in the Tour de France.” Groenewegen had to leave the Tour in the twelfth stage as a result of a crash in the stage towards Roubaix. “He’s had a period that he could hardly train. If he had been in a good shape today, he would have sprinted for victory. But he wasn’t good enough.”
After the breakaway was caught and a few more riders tried to get away, the peloton prepared for a bunch sprint. In the final, there was a big crash in the peloton. One of the victims was the Norwegian Amund Jansen. As a result of this crash, the LottoNL-Jumbo rider suffered abrasions and got some problems with his wrist.
Tomorrow, the time trial in Venray is on the programme. For Lars Boom and Jos van Emden it’s the ideal chance to get a good result. According to Verhoeven, it’s not just the stage win that counts tomorrow. “There are no time differences between the GC riders, so for that matter there are many favourites. We have to ride a good time trial, because only then you can participate for the top positions in the final GC.”
“A chaotic sprint”, sports director Nico Verhoeven said. “There was no control in the final. Fabio Jakobsen was the only one who came out well and could sprint to victory.”
According to Verhoeven, the chaos wasn’t the reason that Groenewegen didn’t win. “I think Dylan didn’t have good legs today. That makes sense as he was forced to abandon in the Tour de France.” Groenewegen had to leave the Tour in the twelfth stage as a result of a crash in the stage towards Roubaix. “He’s had a period that he could hardly train. If he had been in a good shape today, he would have sprinted for victory. But he wasn’t good enough.”
After the breakaway was caught and a few more riders tried to get away, the peloton prepared for a bunch sprint. In the final, there was a big crash in the peloton. One of the victims was the Norwegian Amund Jansen. As a result of this crash, the LottoNL-Jumbo rider suffered abrasions and got some problems with his wrist.
Tomorrow, the time trial in Venray is on the programme. For Lars Boom and Jos van Emden it’s the ideal chance to get a good result. According to Verhoeven, it’s not just the stage win that counts tomorrow. “There are no time differences between the GC riders, so for that matter there are many favourites. We have to ride a good time trial, because only then you can participate for the top positions in the final GC.”
