Groenewegen denied again as crashes continue to define Unibet Rose Rockets' Giro

The team had spent most of the final kilometres near the front on the run into Naples, but the finish unravelled on the wet cobbled streets towards the finish when Groenewegen lost the front wheel and slid out.

“It was a bit slippery,” Groenewegen said afterwards. “I’m really proud of the boys and I think we did nothing wrong. Just our front wheel slipped away. That can happen on the cobbles.”

It was the second crash in six days for the 32-year-old after also going down in the opening stage in Bulgaria. Groenewegen crossed the line holding his right shoulder and admitted the impact had aggravated the same area again.

“It’s stiff again, so I’ll give it a few days and then it should be OK again, I think,” he said. “It’s never nice to crash, but it’s just a little bit of stiffness.”

For Unibet Rose Rockets, the team came into its first Grand Tour built around Groenewegen’s sprint train and targeted the opening week for opportunities, but two of the clearest sprint stages have already disappeared through crashes rather than missed form.

Still, Groenewegen was more disappointed for the team than for himself after another finale slipped away. The Rockets had been in pole position heading into the final corner, only for bad luck to end their chances before the sprint had even properly opened up.

“Sometimes you have bad luck, but I’m really proud of the boys today,” he said. “We’re looking forward, and now we need a bit of recovery, I think. Then we go to the next opportunity.”

Despite the setback, Groenewegen felt the Rockets had shown again that they are capable of fighting for a stage victory at this Giro.

“It’s always easy to say, but I think we are in the right position to go again for a victory,” he said. “Sometimes you have bad luck, but I’m really proud of the boys today.”

That next chance may take time, with Friday’s stage to Blockhaus set to be about survival for the sprinters, while the Giro route becomes less forgiving heading into the second week. The next clear opportunity could come on stage 15, with a finish in Milan.