DUBAI: It was a closely fought battle near the finishing line, but Dutch sprinter Dylan Groenewegen triumphed in a bunch sprint to win the opening stage of the 2018 Dubai Tour clocking 3h51’35”. Groenewegen and Elian Viviani were matching each other strength for strength as the stage neared it finish, but the Dutch sprinter gave his Quick-Step Floor counterpart no room to breeze through and finished the 167-km long stage to lead the overall General classification.
Groenewegen was thus presented the Dubai Tour’s blue jersey, as well as the points leader’s red jersey and the white jersey that is given to the best young rider. Finishing second was Magnus Cort Nielsen, who finished four minutes behind Groenewegen despite several members of his team involved in a late crash with 8.2 km to go. Quick Step’s Viviani secured the third spot.
The riders got an advantage of more than five minutes over the peloton, but the pack managed to catch them in time to guide the stage to a final sprint.
Groenewegen, who last year won the seventh stage of the Tour of Britain, where he held off Caleb Ewan of Orica Scott, said prevailing in a race that comprises the best sprinters in the world makes the win just that bit special for him.
“I came close every day last year but I didn’t win. I came second twice and I’m glad to start this new season on the right foot, thanks to the good job by my team. Quick-Step made it a very hard sprint by setting a high speed from far out but I launched my sprint with 200m to go. It was very tight at the end but went in my favour. It feels good to win my first stage this year, especially with the high level of sprinters who are here,” Groenewegen said.
“It was really hard to win. There was a crash and we moved at the right time. Amund Grondahl Jansen and Timo Roosen were my lead out men: they delivered me with perfect timing. It was close with Magnus Cort Nielsen but I beat him. It feels great because the best sprinters are here. Last year I got my first win in Yorkshire at the end of April. It brings a completely different feeling to win my very first race of the year. The last stage of the Tour de France remains my biggest win but it’s cool that I can beat the best.”