Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) continued his steady rise towards the top of the sprinting hierarchy by beating Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEDGE) in the bunch sprint on the first stage of the Tour de Yorkshire. After an excellent lead-out from his teammates, he timed his sprint perfectly and easily held off the Australian and Nikias Arndt (Giant-Alpecin) to win the stage and take the first leader’s jersey.

 

We have gathered several reactions.

 

Dylan Groenewegen: When I started my sprint, I knew I would win

Dylan Groenewegen rewarded the support of his team-mates with victory in the first stage of the Tour de Yorkshire. Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s sprinter started the bunch sprint in the right position and beat Caleb Ewan (Orica - GreenEDGE) and Nikias Arndt (Team Giant - Alpecin) convincingly.

 

“The way our riders approached this race was strong,” Sports Director Merijn Zeeman said. “I can’t say anything else than that this victory was a beautiful team performance. We took the lead with two kilometres to go. That was a key moment in the stage. The last hundred metres went slightly downhill and were tortuous. Dylan Groenewegen was lead out perfectly and finished it off with a strong sprint.”

 

Groenewegen gave his teammates a big compliment, as well.

 

“They all fulfilled their tasks perfectly,” he said. “I didn’t have to fight for my position one single moment. This was a lead-out like it should be. When I started to sprint, I actually knew already that I was going to win. I saw Ewan on my wheel, but he neven came up next to me. I just finished a short period of rest. I’ve trained well and it’s wonderful to start this new period immediately with a victory.”

 

Zeeman sees that Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s sprint lead-out is improving.

 

“We were one today,” he concluded. “Everyone did his part of the job. Tomorrow, we’re going for it another time. The second stage seems to be the easiest one, but the weather is going to be bad. We should enjoy this victory first, though.”

 

Orica-GreenEDGE: Caleb Ewan is now a marked man

2016 Tour Down Under stage winner Caleb Ewan sprinted to second place on the opening stage of the Tour de Yorkshire today after strong work by ORICA-GreenEDGE in the closing kilometres of the race.

 

A cold, wet and windy day unfolded over the North Yorkshire dales with a breakaway of six riders ahead for most of the day. ORICA-GreenEDGE began to take control at the head of the peloton in the final third with Paris-Roubaix championMathew Hayman and Dane Chris Juul-Jensen riding hard and protecting Ewan.

 

Ewan was boxed in going into the final kilometre and it looked like there was no way out until the 21-year old burst through a small gap to finish in second place just behind stage winner Dylan Groenwengen (LottoNL-Jumbo).

 

Sport director Matt Wilson was pleased with the team’s performance.

 

“The day went really well for us today,” said Wilson. “The whole team rode a fantastic race but it didn’t go our way in the final.

 

“Caleb (Ewan) has achieved some great results already this season and he’s a marked man in the sprints now. He did a great job to get out of the crowd and came very close to taking the stage win.”

 

“It was a freezing cold day and the heavy rain made the conditions even worse,” continued Wilson. “We wanted to keep ourselves in a good position at the front and I think we did that.”

 

“Tomorrow is a flatter stage and hopefully we will get another crack at the sprint.”

 

“I made a few tactical errors in the last part,” Ewan told Cyclingnews. “I went on the wrong side twice in the last 200 metres. Once, in the last 100 metres, I was coming around on the left and Groenewegen moved more towards the left and I couldn’t go through on the barriers any more so I had to stop pedalling and try to come back around him, and obviously that close to the finish line you can’t really make up that much room.”

 

Nikias Arndt shows good form for the Giro d’Italia in Yorkshire sprint

Nikias Arndt sprinted to an impressive 3rd place.

 

Arndt gave his thoughts after the race: “I didn’t know how I would be feeling once the race started since it was my first it a while but I felt quite good until the 100km mark then my legs started to get tired. The guys did a great job today in supporting me, especially in these tough weather conditions.

 

“In the sprint, Koen did the lead-out with one kilometer to go. I ended being in a good position in the last corner but I just lacked the final kick in the sprint.”

 

Frustration for Danny Van Poppel and Sky in Yorkshire opener

Danny van Poppel claimed fifth place for Team Sky on the opening stage of the Tour de Yorkshire as Dylan Groenewegen sprinted to victory in Settle.

 

Van Poppel latched on to LottoNL-Jumbo's lead-out train as the undulating 184km trek from Beverley neared its conclusion and drifted back on the final corner before unleashing his powerful kick.

 

The Dutchman then surged to the line but was unable to overhaul his compatriot Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) as he narrowly outpaced Caleb Ewan (Orica GreenEdge) for his third win of the season.

 

Groenwegen's triumph also saw him take control of the blue leader's jersey, and bonus seconds ensured he opened up a four-second lead over Ewan at the top of the standings, with Van Poppel a further six seconds back.

 

Immediately after the stage Van Poppel told TeamSky.com: "It was a tough, cold and rainy day out there but we rode on the front for most of the day as a team and they tried to help me in the final kilometres.

 

"Everyone did a really good job. It was a really hectic finish and in the sprint my end result was fifth." 

 

As Van Poppel said, Team Sky controlled the stage for much of the day in the cold, wet and windy conditions with Xabier Zandio and Peter Kennaugh both taking huge turns on the front of the peloton to keep an early six-man breakaway in check.

 

Luke Rowe and Gianni Moscon then came to the fore as team leaders Lars Petter Nordhaug and Nicolas Roche conserved their energies for the decisive stages to come, and Andy Fenn also helped guide Van Poppel into contention as the race reached a frantic conclusion.

 

Thomas Voeckler (Direct Energie) and Anthony Turgis (Cofidis) had chipped off the front on the concluding circuit, and Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) also tried his hand  before being swept up with the flamme rouge in sight.

 

Then the battle of the lead-outs ensued and Van Poppel got himself right in the mix before Groenwegen sealed his triumph by less than half a bike length.

 

Back on the bus Sport Director Brett Lancaster admitted it had been a hard day in the saddle but was pleased with the effort his riders had shown.

 

He said: "It was a tough stage and very cold but we rode on the front pretty much the whole day to keep our leaders out of trouble. Danny was a little bit disappointed he couldn't quite finish it off at the end but he gave it his best shot. 

 

"We'll get back out there and do it all again tomorrow, and hopefully it'll be a bit warmer (smiles). That's a shorter stage and definitely another one for the sprinters. The emphasis for us is Sunday though where the race will be decided."

Floris Gerts gain confidence from strong sprint in Yorkshire

A predicted bunch sprint saw Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) take the win, with Floris Gerts sprinting to 6th place.

 

Gerts said:

 

“I’m really happy with my result because I know I can do sprint like that. When I was up there in the sprint and look around I was really sprinting with the best which is a nice feeling. I knew in the run in to the line I had to keep moving up and telling myself that I was capable of sprinting with those riders.

 

“It was all about surviving in those conditions today. Team Sky tried to split the peloton when the roads got more narrow but eventually everyone came back together and we were up there as a team.

 

“We’ll see what happens in the next two days. Stage 3 is definitely a nice one to win and would also play a part in the GC.”

 

Fantastic start for ONE Pro Cycling in Yorkshire

A nasty crash just outside the neutralised zone took down approximately 30 riders including Dion Smith, James Oram and Marcin Bialoblocki for ONE but they fought to get back in the peloton, just as Pete Williams made his way into the first and official break of the day. The peloton seemed happy to let the 6 leaders go, allowing them to gain a maximum advantage of 4 minutes and 30 seconds.

 

Harsh winds and unseasonably cold weather whipped against the bunch as Sky moved to the front to take control. With 72km to go, the break split in half under the pressure. Pete Williams found himself in the lead with two other riders as they surged on towards the one and only KOM of the day, Cote de Greenhow Hill. On the approach to the climb, one additional lone rider managed to bridge the gap creating a 4 man break competing for the coveted KOM title. Feeling strong and with a good knowledge of the roads, Williams put in an attack with around 500m of Greenhow Hill remaining crowning him King of the Mountains going into Stage 2 tomorrow. Not slowing up, Pete Williams topped Greenhow Hill and didn’t hesitate to put in another attack, leaving his pursuers behind and taking a small solo lead of 39 seconds. Williams was then joined by three other riders and the break lasted another 10km. With 37km to go, Team Sky increased the pace in a decisive move to close down the break. 34km remaining and the break was caught, the intense speed on the bunch causing the peloton to string out on the country lanes on the approach to Settle.

 

Heading towards the finishing circuit Marcin Bialoblocki went to the front and started riding allowing the team to sit tight towards the front. Going through the finishing line with 12.5km remaining the team were positioned well but one last climb up to Giggleswick stretched the peloton. With 6km to go the riders hit a big long straight road as they raced back to settle, each team jockeying for position. Martin Mortensen positioned Dion Smith and Karol Domagalski perfectly as they heading into the final kilometre.

 

Becoming boxed with around 750m to go Karol Domagalski launched his sprint for the line leading the peloton only to be swamped with 200 metres to go, crossing the line in 8th position with team mate Dion Smith finishing in 9th.

 

Due to his activities in the break all day not only did Pete Williams pick up the King of the Mountains jersey but he was also awarded the Dimension Data most aggressive rider jersey topping off a fantastic day for ONE Pro Cycling

 

Cummings tries late move, Pauwels gains time in Yorkshire opener

It was a cold and gloomy start to the Tour de Yorkshire as riders left Beverley with the temperature not that much more than a few degrees above zero. 6 riders got into the early move of the day and Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka, along with Team Sky, took control of the peloton.

 

Bernie Eisel, the African Team's road captain, marshalled the troops well and spent a large amount of time on the front of the peloton controlling the gap to the break. As the race ploughed straight into a headwind for most of the day, there was always this sense of nervousness as with a slight change of wind direction the crosswinds had the potential to decimate the peloton. This would not materialise though and the break was caught with a little over 20km to go, thanks to a great job by the African Team.

 

Most teams were then focused on a sprint finish but Steve Cummings was not going to make it that easy for them. In what is becoming trademark fashion now, Cummings jumped away with around 5km to go just moments after 2 other riders tried their luck too. Cummings quickly caught and passed the duo that were ahead and went in pursuit of the finish line, solo. LottoNL-Jumbo and Orica-Greenedge had to commit fully to the chase as Cummings put down the power.

 

While this tactic has worked for Cummings a number of times in the past, today he would be caught with 1.5km to go. The sprint then followed and LottoNL-Jumbo's work paid off as their sprinter took the win in Settle. While the African Team didn't have a rider finish in the top 10 on the stage, Serge Pauwels showed great awareness to take a bonus second at an intermediate sprint with 10km to go. This meant the Belgian ended the stage in 6th place on the General Classification. Unfortunately, Nic Dougall wasn't able to finish today's stage due to an Achilles tendon strain.  

 

Serge Pauwels said:
 

The weather made it a hard race today. It was very cold and rainy, and there was a headwind all day. Steve played his card in the final to try and win the stage but unfortunately he did not succeed. I was able to take a bonus second at an intermediate sprint near the finish, so we look forward to this weekend's stages.”

 

Van den Broeck and Machado stay in contention, Bystrøm crashes out

The second edition of the Tour de Yorkshire began on Friday for the first of three days of racing. Stage 1 opened with a road stage from Beverley to Settle at 184km and ended in a bunch sprint. Team KATUSHA was well-represented in the final with GC hopefuls Van den Broeck and Machado in the main peloton.

 

”It was a good race for Nils Politt. Once again he was very active. He went in the break after only 1 or 2 km from the start and worked in the group very well until the break was caught. Today's stage ended with the sprint and our GC guys, Jurgen Van den Broeck and Tiago Machado, finished in the main group. Normally tomorrow we will have another sprint while on Sunday it will be a stage which will decide the GC and I hope our riders will be there fighting for position,” said team director José Azevedo.

 

An unfortunate accident took out team rider Sven Erik Bystrøm at the start of the stage.

 

“We had bad luck today with the crash of Sven Erik after only 500 meters on that dangerous grilled part of the road. Tomorrow Sven will have an x-rays to check everything, but we hope he is OK and doesn't have any hidden injuries,” concluded Azevedo.