Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla) broke his collarbone on stage 1 of the Renewi Tour, crashing heavily over the line with Tim Merlier after the Soudal-QuickStep rider swung toward him as they sprinted across the Bilzen finish in fourth and fifth.
Merlier—who could be seen putting his hands up in what looked like remonstration as Groenewegen lay on the ground in pain and distress—was relegated to the back of the lead bunch by the race jury for the move in the sprint. That shifted him from fourth to 83rd place on stage 1, but there will be more opportunities for Merlier. His team expects that he will be able to start on Thursday, escaping the hard fall that left him tangled up with Groenewegen with 'some abrasions'.
