Dylan Groenewegen is aiming for revenge in the opening stage of the Tour de France on Saturday. Six years ago, the top sprinter crashed in the first stage in Brussels. Now he has another chance in Lille to conquer the yellow leader’s jersey.
Groenewegen’s list of results this season is not yet very impressive. In May, the 32-year-old Amsterdammer won a stage in the Tour of Hungary and last month he was twice the best in a stage in the Tour of Slovenia.
Groenewegen is not worried about that. The leader of Jayco AlUla has only one major goal this year. “I have only been focused on the Tour all season,” he says in an interview with NU.nl. “Even more than in other years. I am very focused on the coming three weeks.”
Groenewegen starts his eighth Tour in Lille on Saturday. With six stage victories, he is the most successful Dutchman of this century in terms of daily successes in the world’s biggest cycling race. Last year he won the sixth stage with the finish in Dijon.
Yet he has adjusted his preparation for the Tour this year. “I was in Spain for a very long time, away from my family. There I was able to train well and hard. Purely to be able to peak in the Tour. I want to win there. Because there is nothing bigger in cycling.”
Groenewegen gets a good chance of success in the first stage on Saturday. The opening stage with start and finish in Lille is made for the sprinters, with only 1,065 altitude meters. The last 40 kilometers are almost flat.
It is the first time in six years that the Tour starts with a flat stage. In 2019, Groenewegen started in Brussels as the favorite in the first stage, but then things went wrong. The Dutchman was 1.7 kilometers from the finish in a massive crash and could not sprint. His then teammate Mike Teunissen won the stage and the first yellow jersey.
On Saturday, Groenewegen finally gets a chance for revenge for that disappointment. “I would like to win a stage in the Tour,” he says. “And the first stage is flat, so that is my first chance. The fact that I will be on the podium with a yellow jersey if I win in Lille is a nice bonus. So of course I’m going for that.”