Dutch sprinter Dylan Groenewegen avoided a late race crash before sprinting to second place in a fast and hectic dash for the line at the GP Fourmies.
 
The Team BikeExchange-Jayco sprinter looked to surprise his rivals as he launched his sprint early after the large crash inside the final 3km left the 29-year-old with no teammates to guide him through the rapid run to the finish.
 
Despite getting the initial jump, the Tour de France stage winner couldn’t quite hold off Caleb Ewan, who came around to take the win on the line.

Dylan Groenewegen (2nd):
“We did a good job as a team today, but unfortunately we lost some riders in the crash with 3km to go. Luckily, I was in the front when the peloton split.
 
In the end I started the sprint too early, but I think it was the best option, so we are happy with the result.”
 
Dave McPartland (Sport Director):
“Today the objective was to have Dylan sprint for the victory, to give him the best opportunity and support him with as much of the team as possible going into the finish.
 
The boys did an amazing job, we managed to get by just mainly using Jack Bauer during the day and we controlled the race along with Lotto-Soudal and AG2R. Coming into the final the race was under control, the gap was coming down and we went into the final lap with nearly a full team.
 
But unfortunately, there was a crash with 3km to go, Campbell Stewart went down, thankfully he is ‘ok’, but we lost a few guys as there was a big split in the bunch. There was no chance to come back so that left Dylan in front by himself.
 
He managed the situation really well and he opened up his sprint relatively early, but otherwise he would have got completely boxed in. He went really close, only Ewan could get around him, so he did a fantastic job to finish second.”
 
2022 GP Fourmies – Race Results:
1. Caleb Ewan 4:27:07
2. Dylan Groenewegen (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) ST
3. Amaury Capiot ST

Photo: Getty Sport