Dutch sprinter shakes off poor beginning
Groenewegen wins 4th career stage in Day 7
CHALON-SUR-SAONE, France — Less than a week ago in Brussels, Dylan Groenewegen sat dejected in the middle of a road, his body language oozing disappointment as he was attended by a Tour de France doctor.
One of the fastest sprinters in the world with one of the most powerful teams, the Dutch sprinter was expected to win the opening stage and seize the yellow jersey. Instead, he was caught in a crash and forced to watch his lead out man at Jumbo-Visma, Mike Teunissen, claim all the honors.
To add to his torment, Teunissen and Groenewegen are roomates on the Tour, meaning he had to spend the night with the yellow jersey in his room.
Banged up and demoralized, Groenewegen took a few days to recover, well beaten in the sprints that followed. He finally put his poor Tour start to bed Friday with the tightest of wins in the longest stage.
“It was not the start I wanted,” Groenewegen candidly said after pointing a finger in celebration as he crossed the line. “Over the last days, I focused on today. My team did a really good job. The tactics was to go full gas, and I took the win.”
Groenewegen edged Australian rival Caleb Ewan and former world champion Peter Sagan of Slovakia to claim his fourth career stage win of the Tour.
After a final technical hairpin bend, the 143-mile stage featured a 1-mile path to the finish that gave pure sprinters a perfect opportunity to shine. Italian sprinter Elia Viviani was led out by his teammates but lacked speed and dropped out of contention. It was then a tight battle between Groenewegen and Ewan, with the former averaging 46 mph to win by just a few centimeters.
Before that intense finale, riders used Stage 7 to recover from the brutal ride Thursday, and it made for painfully boring viewing.
“A long slow day on the saddle,” defending champion Geraint Thomas said. “Everything was starting to ache by the end, your wrists and your feet and stuff.”
There was no significant movement in the overall standings. Tour rookie Giulio Ciccone kept the yellow jersey with a sixsecond lead over Julian Alaphilippe.