Groenewegen, who won the first stage in Algarve last year, was well placed in the slipstream of his teammates, who had worked hard to chase down the early breakaway.

“This is very unfortunate. It’s just bad luck, but a crash like this is part of cycling”, sports director Grischa Niermann said. “The stage evolved as we expected. We were in an ideal position for the sprint, but Jasper Stuyven hit the wheel of his teammate and crashed in our leadout. Immediately, the stage was over for us. Until the crash, everything went according to plan. Dylan doesn’t seem to have a serious injury, but Timo has a badly battered knee. On the other hand, Neilson rode an excellent stage and was well-placed in the sprint.”