Dylan Groenewegen rewarded the support of his team-mates with victory in the first stage of the Tour de Yorkshire. Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s sprinter started the bunch sprint in the right position and beat Caleb Ewan (Orica - GreenEDGE) and Nikias Arndt (Team Giant - Alpecin) convincingly.

“The way our riders approached this race was strong,” Sports Director Merijn Zeeman said. “I can’t say anything else than that this victory was a beautiful team performance. We took the lead with two kilometres to go. That was a key moment in the stage. The last hundred metres went slightly downhill and were tortuous. Dylan Groenewegen was lead out perfectly and finished it off with a strong sprint.”

Compliment

Groenewegen gave his teammates a big compliment, as well. “They all fulfilled their tasks perfectly,” he said. “I didn’t have to fight for my position one single moment. This was a lead-out like it should be. When I started to sprint, I actually knew already that I was going to win. I saw Ewan on my wheel, but he neven came up next to me. I just finished a short period of rest. I’ve trained well and it’s wonderful to start this new period immediately with a victory.”

Zeeman sees that Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s sprint lead-out is improving. “We were one today,” he concluded. “Everyone did his part of the job. Tomorrow, we’re going for it another time. The second stage seems to be the easiest one, but the weather is going to be bad. We should enjoy this victory first, though.”