Dylan Groenewegen was not only the strongest, but also the smartest at the Tour of Limburg today. The Dutch athlete brilliantly managed to break out of the frenetic pace of the final. While his rivals – including Arnaud de Lee (3rd) – almost crashed out en masse out of the treacherous final corner, Groenewegen cruised to victory for the first time since January.
Will we get another inevitable sprint race or can anyone take advantage of the extra kinks and cobblestones of the Limburg Tour this time around?
This year’s Belgian one-day race was a dress rehearsal for similar European Championships later in the season and therefore received a slight change. Visma-Lease a Bike in particular tried to capitalize on the tougher final.
With hard-working Belgians like Tosh van der Sande and Julian Vermot at the front, the yellow bloc tried to stir things up in the final kilometres, but in today’s Lotto-Dstny there was a leader with plenty of feelings of revenge.
Arnaud De Lie was stuck in a frustrating fourth place yesterday in the Antwerp Port Epic and sent his train into the fray early enough today. Successfully: his teammates accurately brought back many of the late attackers – even before the red rag.
But the streamlined sprint would not follow him in the final kilometre. In the final turn, some of the leaders almost went off the corner, so De Lee himself had to brake briefly.
Only Dylan Groenewegen – who was able to capitalize on Biniyam Jermay’s awakening – was able to stay away from the frenzy. The Dutchman from Jayco – AlUla won for the first time since January 20.
Alpecin Desoninck’s Maurice Ballerstedt dropped to second, while De Lee himself took third.
De Lee: “It went by so fast that I didn’t know what was happening.”
Arnaud de Lee (third): “It went so fast in the final that I didn’t know what was happening. I was almost in Dylan’s wheel (Groenewegen, ed.) but in the end I had to hit the brakes in that last corner. Anyway, Dylan deserves it He is a real runner.”
“And I’m happy with that third place finish and the job my team did today. I had 100% confidence again that they would bring the strikers back and they did. As a result, we probably came a little early. Head, but we can’t be dissatisfied.”
“Am I disappointed that I didn’t win again? No, you always come to win, but of course this doesn’t work out, right? I’ve already gained confidence for the future.”
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