Dylan Groenewegen has won the first stage of the Tour of Saudi Arabia. The drive was over 180 kilometers from AlUla International Airport to Khaybar. Groenewegen, who rides for the team Jayco AlUla, won the sprint ahead of the Serbian Dusan Rajovic and the German Max Walscheid.
An attempt to stay away by the Spaniard Peio Goikoetxea stranded just under 15 kilometers before the finish. The German John Degenkolb then dropped out at the front due to a flat tire, a crash one and a half kilometers before the line caused a further shift.
Groenewegen was ‘deposed’ perfectly by his Slovenian teammate Luka Mezgec. Cees Bol was the second Dutch cyclist in seventh place. For the 29-year-old from Amsterdam it was his first victory since the stage win in the Arctic Race of Norway in August.
“We were very motivated to show ourselves right away. In preparation for this season we have evaluated many sprints with video images. You learn from that, also from the things that went wrong,” said Groenewegen, who and his team had received help from Team DSM in tracking down the escapee. That team saw Degenkolb drop out and Casper van Uden finish just outside the top 10.
The Tour of Saudi Arabia lasts until Friday.
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