Everyone remembers when Dylan Groenewegen was banned from the sport for 9 months, having piqued the famous Fabio Jakobsen crash, at the Tour de Pologne, 2020. But the BikeExchange-Jayco’s rider earned absolution, and won stage three of the Tour de France, on 3rd July, Sunday. His practice at the Dauphine is coming in handy.
View this post on Instagram
Groenewegen wiped his tears of joy as he said:
It was a long way [back], I want to say thanks to my team, family, and friends to bring me back to the Tour in a good shape. Not physically but mentally it was a hard time, of course. After all, that happened…
His team was as delighted as him because the last stage that he won at The Tour was in 2019. It was also the last win of the team at the Tour. The performance prompted Ryan, to stop backing the teams with funding.
But his love for the sport did not let him do so. He was quite happy that he did not act on impulse and decided to put his trust in the team. The businessman made a comment on the team’s performance:
To be here and see Dylan’s victory and see the whole team celebrate is special. What a fantastic effort. They knew they weren’t far away on Saturday, and they just stuck to the plan again. I’m very fortunate that it’s a great organization.
He praised the team, saying:
It’s all about resilience, and our resilience paid off, and we won. I’m sure there’s going to be more during the Tour.
View this post on Instagram
On the other hand, Wout van Aert ended up in second place for the third time. Just prior to the Tour, Van aert injury miraculously healed, but it looks like the injury has left its toll. The team Jumbo–Visma rider was visibly upset as his teammates gathered to solace him. The Belgian rider vexed out, saying:
I have finished second now three times in a row, but this one was one I had in my own hands. It’s the first big disappointment.
He admitted that the win was within his grasp, but he lost it to his own doing:
If I’d just sat there and waited a little longer, I’d have won. This sprint was about centimeters, and so this was just a big mistake on my part.
While Michael Mørkøv, the king of perfection, decided not to look back to check and ended up leading out Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte, Jumbo-Visma’s pair. He commented on his careless mistake:
I ended up leading out the Jumbo guys instead of Fabio. I was confident he was in my wheel but he wasn’t, Fabio lost us a bit, but unfortunately, I was sure he was in my wheel so I started to launch the sprint – with him, I thought.
Peter Sagan angrily pointed his figure at Wout Van Aert, accusing Van Aert of obstructing his sprint by hedging him close to the barriers in Sønderborg. When asked about the situation. Peter Commented:
I cannot judge, we have a jury for that, from the image on TV you can see… I am happy that I am still here in one piece
Van Aert, on the contrary, denies having done anything intentionally. It looks like everyone is angry with each other. As Peter blames Van Aert and Caleb Ewan was furious with Sagan. He expressed his feelings:
I think it started with Van Aert but then Sagan a bit more of a dramatic swing to the right
Ewan experienced as if he was just a “couple of centimeters” away from a crash:
If I kept sprinting and didn’t break, then I run into the barrier, and of course, something would happen. The rules are always interpreted differently. In some races, they would get disqualified, in some races they won’t get disqualified
Looks like Dylan Groenewegen has given us another reason to remember him by, His exceptional performance.
Also Read: Tour De France: All That Has Happened At The Friday’s Time Trail
Featured Image Via YouTube/ Team BikeExchange-Jayco
