Race report | 11 August 2021, 18:00

Third place for Groenewegen in second stage of Tour of Denmark

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Dylan Groenewegen has managed to finish on the podium in the second stage of the Tour of Denmark as well. The victory was not in the cards this time. The resident of Amsterdam finished third in the bunch sprint. As a result, the fast man from Team Jumbo-Visma maintained his lead in the general classification.

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The stage took the riders over almost 190 kilometres from the east coast to the west coast of Denmark. The breakaway of the day only took shape at 90 kilometres from the finish. Five riders were close, but could not claim the day’s victory.

In the final stage it was up to the sprinter teams. With a scorching pace Deceuninck-Quickstep and Team Jumbo-Visma rode at the head of the bunch. Groenewegen was well positioned in his strong sprint train. After a powerful lead of, again, Edoardo Affini it was up to Mike Teunissen to do the final work. The Dutchman saw Groenewegen eventually finish third, behind day winner Mads Pedersen and European champion Giacomo Nizzolo.

“Today we were a strong team again”, Teunissen said. “We actually did everything right. Dylan was dropped in a perfect position in the last couple of hundred metres. Too bad that Pedersen turned out to be just a little bit stronger today.”

"Today we were a strong team again."

Mike Teunissen

Teunissen continued: “Personally, I’m in good spirits. Since my return from injury I’ve been riding with a good feeling. Now I have to get back into the sprints, because I haven’t been able to do that all year. I am here to help Dylan in the finals. The focus is now on tomorrow, when we will have more opportunities as a team.”

Sports director Jan Boven looked back on the second stage with mixed feelings. “It is a pity that Dylan fell just short of the victory. He was a little disappointed about that. He was not able to sprint all the way. I have nothing to complain about the rest of the day. Rick Pluimers was in control all day. He did this with flying colours. Dylan’s sprint train did not disappoint again today. We are very happy with that.”

"It is a pity that Dylan fell just short of the victory."

Jan Boven

Boven spoke with great confidence about tomorrow’s day. “The final of tomorrow’s stage is particularly tricky. On paper it is the queen stage of this stage race. In the final we ride a number of laps. The local circuit is an executioner and has a gradient of up to twenty percent. We will ride to win. I am confident that the men in our team have the qualities to do well tomorrow”, Boven concluded.