Dylan Groenewegen lost his leader’s jersey on Thursday in the second stage of the Tour of Slovenia. The Dutch sprinter was dropped. In the opening stage of the Tour of Great Britain for women, Lorena Wiebes narrowly missed the stage victory.
The 31-year-old Groenewegen was still the strongest in the opening stage in Slovenia on Thursday. The Dutch road champion was the fastest in the sprint and was allowed to start in the leader’s jersey on Thursday.
Groenewegen was unable to hold on to his first place in the standings. The sprinter from Jayco-AlUla was dropped on a slope. His leader’s jersey is taken over by the Swiss Fabio Christen, who won the stage.
Rui Oliveira crossed the finish line first in Rogaska Slatina, but had hindered fellow escapee Christen in the sprint. The Portuguese was relegated to sixth place by the organization. The Dutchman Sjoerd Bax finished seventh.
The Tour of Slovenia continues on Friday with a relatively flat stage of 172 kilometers. The stage race ends on Sunday.
Wiebes has to settle for third place
In the opening stage of the Tour of Great Britain, the victory went to Kimberley Le Court-Pienaar. The rider from Mauritius was faster in the sprint than her American fellow escapee Kristen Faulkner.
The peloton approached the duo in the final kilometers, but just fell short of competing for the stage victory. Wiebes won the sprint from the peloton in Redcar, England, and finished third, five seconds behind Le Court-Pienaar.
Wiebes has won six stages in the Tour of Great Britain in the past. She is aiming for stage victories again this year, but is also thinking about the overall victory. “There are some difficult stages, but there is no really tough mountain stage,” Wiebes said earlier. “That’s why I dare to cautiously dream of the general classification.”
The Tour of Great Britain continues on Friday with a hilly stage of 114 kilometers from Hartlepool to Saltburn-by-the-Sea. The British race lasts until Sunday.
