Dylan Groenewegen admits mistake in Giro sprint: ‘Stupid’

Groenewegen was in the mix on the cobbled finishing straight after a strong lead-out from his Unibet Rose Rockets teammates, but the Dutch sprinter was unable to overhaul Magnier and Jonathan Milan in the final metres. Milan led into the last bend with 150 metres to go, only for Magnier to time his acceleration perfectly and come past the Italian before the line.

Groenewegen crossed the line close behind in third, and he was blunt in his assessment afterwards.

“No, I felt immediately that it was not for the victory,” Groenewegen told CyclingPro.net when asked whether he believed he had won. 

“I had speed, but I went too late. The team did a perfect job, an amazing job. We missed the first day a little bit, but today we did everything in the right way. I just had to go. It was 200 metres to go, I think. I had the speed, so yeah, stupid.”

The result came two days after Groenewegen was caught up in the crash that marred the finale of stage 1, a setback that had already cost him a chance to sprint for victory in the opening days of the race. 

Asked whether he could take satisfaction from bouncing back so quickly, Groenewegen was again unwilling to settle for consolation.

“No, not really,” he said. “We came for the victory, also on the first day, and then we crashed. It can happen in a race. But you heard the sound. That is what I want with the team. For next time, at least it is hopeful.”

The Rockets and Groenewegen will not have to wait long for fresh opportunities, with Tuesday’s stage, immediately after Monday’s rest day, and Thursday’s stage both looking tailor-made for the sprinters.