Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla) survived the chaos of the Ronde van Limburg finale to take his first victory since January with a powerful sprint into Tongeren.
The Dutchman latched onto the final lead-out of Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) in the final kilometre before diving down the inside of the final corner on the perfect racing line ahead of Maurice Ballerstedt (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and storming away to victory.
Ballerstedt was second at the line after not taking the last bend with as much speed as Groenewegen, while one of the pre-race favourites Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny) had to settle for third after taking evasive action in the final corner.
De Lie was almost undone as Tom Bohli (Tudor) and Matteo Moschetti (Q36.5) went shoulder to shoulder in the final corner and also narrowly missed Groenewegen’s back wheel – amazingly the whole bunch sprint stayed upright.
This win marks a huge moment for Groenwegen after failing to get back on the top step of a podium since the Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana 1969 on January 20, his first race of the 2024 season. There have been six trips to the podium for the Dutchman but the win has eluded him until now, perfectly in time for his final ramp-up to the Tour de France.
“It's been a while, so it's certainly nice to cross the line with my hands in the air again. I was often close, but it was always just not," said Groenewegen post-race.
“I have to thank the team for never losing confidence in me. We always went for it, but unfortunately, we were more often than not rewarded. But that is also part of cycling. The team knows what I can do when I am given the freedom to sprint.
“We know what the big goal is,” he said in reference to the Tour. “It is now a matter of building up even further. The last few weeks I have been a bit sick, but I feel better and am getting better. This is good for self-confidence.”
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