Dylan Groenewegen is realistic after missing sprint chance: "Breakaway was just too strong"

Dylan Groenewegen had the fifteenth stage circled in red in the route book, but he had not accounted for a scenario where four breakaway riders would stay out of the peloton's reach. Afterwards, the sprinter from Rose Rockers was frustrated by the missed opportunity but also realistic.

Miracles are not yet out of the world. The sprinters' stage was actually not won by a sprinter, but by attacker Frederik Dversnes. The Norwegian, together with his breakaway companions Martin Marcellusi, Mirco Maestri, and Mattia Bais, stayed out of the peloton's reach and then won the sprint in the streets of Milan.

"What went wrong was that the lead group stayed ahead. And maybe I started the sprint a bit too early, but I think everyone was at their limit. So yes, it is what it is today," Groenewegen said after finishing sixth in an interview with Cycling Pro Net.

"We tried, but we didn't get any closer. So yes, it was as it was and we gave it everything we had. We put the whole team at the front and I think many other teams did the same, like Lidl-Trek and Soudal Quick-Step. But the breakaway was simply too strong."

According to Groenewegen, it was not an easy stage. "I was also pretty warm. And those local laps make it quite tricky. The past few days also make it heavier. But I think today we did everything we could."

At the start of the final lap, the times were stopped; according to several riders - including Jonas Vingegaard - the local circuit was somewhat dangerous. Groenewegen thinks differently. "For me, it was beautiful. Yes. I loved that local circuit and it was great with the crowd. Fortunately, we had good weather, but for me, it was a wonderful local lap. So no, I have nothing to criticize."

Influence of the motorbike?
In an interview with Eurosport, Groenewegen was also asked about the role of the motorbikes at the front of the race. Could the breakaway riders have benefited from the slipstream of the motorbike in the finale, as his teammate Elmar Reinders claimed afterwards?

"I don’t know, I wasn’t in the break. I can only speak on behalf of the peloton. We gave everything and we couldn’t go any harder. We deployed all our riders and in the end, we still fell short," explains the sprint ace from Rose Rockets.