Dylan Groenewegen has won the first stage of Paris-Nice in a millimetre sprint. The 25-year-old sprinter of Team Jumbo-Visma finished off the work of his teammates in a perfect way in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. He is also the first overall leader in the ‘Race to the Sun’. For Groenewegen it is his third victory of the season. For Team Jumbo-Visma it’s the sixth win so far.
The short stage of just under hundred and forty kilometres turned out to be a real spectacle and a battlefield as well. Due to the strong wind, the peloton broke into echelons all day. Team Jumbo-Visma rode attentively, created the echelons and hardly got into trouble. In the final, the team of Nico Verhoeven and Sierk-Jan de Haan were represented in the lead peloton with six riders, after which Groenewegen finished the teamwork off in the sprint.
Groenewegen was very enthusiastic about the teamwork afterwards. “The team was really fantastic. My teammates did a really great job by protecting me well and keeping me out of trouble all day”, the Dutchman said. “It was a short stage, but very difficult because of the wind. The lead out was good and I’m glad I was able to finish it off. It was extremely close, but I knew right away that I had won. It was a typical Dutch day: a lot of wind, lots of echelons and a continuous fight for your position. We knew in advance that this could happen. It’s awesome. The fact that I beat all the top sprinters and clinched the yellow jersey makes it even better. I am already looking forward to the coming sprint stages.”
Stage 1 Brief Results:
- Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jumbo-Visma) at 3:17:35
- Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) s.t.
- Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) s.t.
- Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) s.t.
- John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) s.t.
- Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) s.t.
- Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) s.t.
- Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida) s.t.
- Bryan Coquard (Vital Concept-B&B Hotel) s.t.
- Anthony Turgis (Direct Energie) s.t.
General Classification After Stage 1:
- Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jumbo-Visma) at 3:17:25
- Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) at 4″
- Luis León Sanchez (Astana Pro Team) at 5″
- Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) s.t.
- Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) at 6″
- Egan Bernal (Team Sky) at 9″
- Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) s.t.
- Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) at 10″
- John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) s.t.
- Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) s.t.
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