Team LottoNL-Jumbo rider Dylan Groenewegen sprinted to fifth in the Tour of Britain’s fifth stage. Jack Bauer (Cannondale) finished just before the bunch kick, Caleb Ewan (Orica) placed fourth leading the sprint. Belgian Julien Vermote remains in the overall lead.  

"It was a tough day. The peloton neared the leaders, but not close enough, and Dylan sprinted to second place in the group,” Sports Director Merijn Zeeman said.

"We put our faith in Dylan. This morning, we decided to give everything for the sprint. We did everything, but were unable to lead out for the win – just fourth place."

There was a lack of cooperation in the group. “Just our team and Lotto-Soudal were putting muscle into the chase. We only have six-man teams here, so you need more teams to close the gap with such a strong leading group. “

Paul Martens

Paul Martens helped give chase and said he was “disappointed” not to bring a win home for LottoNL-Jumbo like earlier in the race.

“We know that if we can put Dylan in a good position, he can win, it did not work today,” explained Martens.

"You're constantly talking with other teams about whether or not to pull. It's a daily battle between the teams who do and do not want to chase. This time, we were unlucky that there were only two teams in the chase. This meant that it was even harder for us. 

“I gave everything I had, but I’m recovering well now. I'm sure that we’ll be able to do it again in the next days."