'Everything's amplified' - Kaden Groves steps up to Tour de France sprinting
The Belgian team who took the opening two stages of this Tour has since had to adjust to the abandon of Jasper Philipsen, and stage 8's performance was a step in the right direction.
Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) had a solid day out on stage 8 of the Tour de France, sprinting to third in the uphill drag in Laval behind Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) and Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) and was content with his performance whilst acknowledging that he believes he can improve as the race goes on. "I've won sprint stages before, but everything needs to go right," Groves said to reporters in Laval after the stage.
When Jasper Philipsen crashed out of the Tour while in the green jersey at the intermediate sprint on stage 3, Kaden Groves, who had been brought to lead the Belgian rider out, was the man who had been granted the opportunity to step up in the sprints. The Australian was asked about the transition to being the sprint leader for the team at this Tour and if he has found the quick shift difficult to manage.
“Yeah, not anymore. The day we lost Jasper [stage 3], this was mentally difficult because there was a lot of emotions this day, hearing that our green jersey is going home, but it takes time and yeah now I feel I’ve found my place in the team, and everyone is motivated to get stage win number three, and we won’t stop trying until Paris," Groves explained.
Groves is no stranger to Grand Tour success, as a seven-time stage winner at the Vuelta a España, and double points classification winner as well, claiming two stage wins at the Giro d'Italia. However, the Tour de France is a whole different level, and this was something that Groves was asked about post-stage.
"I don't feel really so much the difference, but I just notice the stress, you know. Especially the crowds are one thing, and this also plays a part when you are riding on the roads and there are people always around," Groves said.
“But I think the biggest difference is, in the Giro, for example, the finish might have started with 50km to go, but here it starts with 80km to go, everything is amplified, the risks are more. So yeah, I think it’s certainly different, but a sprint’s a sprint," added Groves.
Mathieu van der Poel has been one of the stars of the 2025 Tour so far, winning stage 2, and riding into yellow on two separate occasions, and the former world champion played a key role in leading out Groves in the climax of stage 8, and this was something that Groves was very appreciative of at the finish and acknowledged could be key to helping him to sprint success.
“I can say it’s an honour for one, [Van der Poel], he’s a super teammate, a super leader as we have seen this week. Yeah, it's super nice to be a part of this team, of course, we miss Jasper (Philipsen), I came here for him, to lead him out, but I’m trying to fill his position, and I believe it’s possible to get a win," Groves said.
"We just need to get everything right, and certainly not for a lack of trying, it’s not the fault of my teammates at all, they’ve done a super job again today, and we take this momentum going forward.”
Van der Poel also spoke to reporters after the stage, giving his assessment of the sprint finish and the lead out that he did for the Australian.
“I didn't see why Kaden lost my wheel. Normally, he follows, but sometimes it's too dangerous, and it's better to hit the brakes. We stayed out of trouble because it was hectic, as always, in the Tour. We came from far behind, and the uphill finish was difficult. At a certain point, we decided to go, and Milan was by far the strongest.”
Van der Poel also addressed the loss of Philipsen, who has been a prolific winner at the Tour de France, but remains optimistic that the team can replicate success with Groves in the stages to come.
“We know that Milan is the fastest here, along with Tim Merlier. With Jasper, we might have had a better chance,” Van der Poel said.
“Kaden already did the Giro and is improving every day here. Maybe we'll get another chance with him later," the Dutchman added.
Stage 9 on Sunday presents another opportunity for the sprinters, and the duo of Groves and Van der Poel will try to go two positions better than the third place in Laval.
