Dylan Groenewegen delivered a five-star sprint performance as he powered to his fifth victory in Veenendaal-Veenendal in dominant fashion.
The Dutchman, racing on local roads, demonstrated his blistering speed once again as he timed his sprint to perfection to make it back-to-back wins in the one-day Dutch race, following his 2022 triumph.
Team Jayco-AlUla worked tirelessly all day to control the peloton and tee Groenewegen up for a sprint finish. The early breakaway was swept up as the race moved into the final 10km and the focus soon switched to the battle for the upcoming fast finish.
After a big fight for position, Australian Kell O’Brien was the last man to swing off the front inside the final kilometre, leaving teammate Groenewegen to surf the wheels through the final corner before launching his fierce sprint for the line. The powerful kick from the Dutchman saw him race away from his rivals and to a historic fifth victory at Veenendaal-Veenendaal.
Dylan Groenewegen:
“I didn’t really have those good legs, but in the sprint I was positioned perfectly and the team did a really good job, they were really strong today. It was not an easy race, there was a lot of wind, it was hectic out there, but I’m really grateful to the team.
It’s a really nice win, this is always a hectic time, a lot of time away from home with training camps and everything with races, so it’s nice to ride in your home country. I live not so far from here, it’s only 70km and it’s nice that my wife is here and also my kid, so it makes the win really special.
It was a good win and also my fifth one here in Veenendaal and hopefully next year I can get a sixth one, but for now we have a really nice one today and we will celebrate it tonight.”
2023 Veenendaal-Veenendaal – Results:
- Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco AlUla) 3:39:17
- Arvid de Kleijn ST
- Sam Welsford ST
