Tour de France: Groenewegen wins stage 3
DPA
· 03.07.2022
Dylan Groenewegen has won the third stage of the 109th Tour de France.
The 29-year-old Dutchman from Team BikExchange-Jayco won the sprint after 182 kilometres from Vejle to Sønderborg, just ahead of the two Belgians Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck). Van Aert continues to wear the overall yellow jersey.
Jakobsen & Groenewegen of all people
The day before, Fabio Jakobsen (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) won the second stage. Jakobsen and Groenewegen were involved in one of the worst crashes in cycling history two years ago. Now they have both won back-to-back stages at the Tour de France.
First Fabio Jakobsen wrote his own personal fairytale, then his arch-rival Dylan Groenewegen triumphed.
The Danish weekend party at the Tour de France was dominated by two protagonists who caused one of the greatest cycling dramas in history almost two years ago. Jakobsen, who was fighting for his life at the time, celebrated the greatest triumph of his career in Nyborg, followed 24 hours later by Groenewegen's victory in Sonderborg.
Tour stage winner Groenewegen talks about difficult time
"It's been a long road. I can only thank my team, my family and my friends. Mentally, it was a tough time after everything that happened," said Groenewegen. At the beginning of August 2020, the Dutchman pushed his compatriot Jakobsen into the barriers in a sprint at 80 kilometres per hour at the Tour of Poland. As a result, he was long considered persona non grata and was banned for several months.
Monday rest day at the Tour de France
Belgian Wout Van Aert, who once again finished second, takes the overall leader's yellow jersey with him to northern France, where the tour continues after the transfer on Tuesday.
Defending champion Tadej Pogacar is in a comfortable starting position. Although he slightly injured his hand in a mass crash on Saturday, he has a few seconds advantage over his closest challengers Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard. The German stage hunters Lennard Kämna, Nils Politt and Maximilian Schachmann will still get their chances.
Jakobsen: "Almost a fairy tale"
For now, the headlines belong to Jakobsen and Groenewegen. With his stage win on Saturday, Jakobsen had already achieved something that nobody had thought he could do a good two years ago. After all, he had only narrowly escaped death on that fateful day in Poland.
"You can think it's a miracle. It's definitely a special story. Almost a fairytale," said Jakobsen almost 700 days later as the Tour stage winner.
Jakobsen was in an induced coma
The professional from Team Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl was in an induced coma, underwent countless operations, and his shattered face alone required 130 stitches. He only has a jaw today because the doctors reshaped it from parts of his pelvic bone. "I hope that my victory has made a lot of people at home happy," said the 25-year-old. His fiancée, his sister, his parents and his team gave him the strength to get through his time of suffering.
Jakobsen's success also silenced the critics who would have preferred to see his British team-mate Mark Cavendish at the Tour instead of him. After all, the 37-year-old could have celebrated his 35th stage win and thus a record with a stage win at this year's Tour. But team boss Patrick Lefevere had other plans.
Lefevere silences critics
"I'm old and wise and the winner is always right. So at the moment I'm right," said Lefevere, adding: "I don't have to justify myself to people who aren't smart enough to understand some things."
The Belgian team has won two out of three stages thanks to the opening success in Copenhagen and the victory in Nyborg. Whether the team can celebrate further victories depends on the corona tests. On the first two days of the Tour, numerous supporters had to travel home due to positive tests.
These included head of sport Tom Steels, a nutritionist and the press officer. "We can only protect ourselves as best we can. I'm just as scared of the coronavirus as I am of the time limit," said Jakobsen. The sprinter still has a good week before that plays a role in the mountains.
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