After winning the first two opening stages at last year’s edition Tour of Slovenia, Dutch sprint star Dylan Groenewegen delivered once again with another fantastic victory on day one of the 2024 edition.
The 205km stage, which was made slightly longer than originally planned due to flooding on the course, began in rainy conditions with a breakaway animating the early proceedings.
Groenewegen and the team suffered some drama coming into the final, as local Slovenian lead-out man Luka Mezgec crashed with 22km to go, but thankfully was able make it back to the head of the peloton in time for the sprint, despite a ripped jersey and a hard chase back.
Once the peloton came back together again, a duo attempted to break away around the final lap but with a bunch sprint on the cards, teams worked to bring everything back ahead of the line.
Groenewegen used his teammates to navigate the fast finale and put himself in position to challenge for the victory. Flying down the finishing straight in Ormož, the Dutchman was neck and neck with Alexander Kristoff, throwing his bike across the line in a close sprint.
A photo finish quickly confirmed that the Team Jayco AlUla rider had won, giving the Dutchman his fifth victory at the Slovenian race and his 72nd individual career win. Groenewegen now moves into the overall race lead and into the lead of the points classification.
Dylan Groenewegen – 1st place
“Always the first stage is really hectic, and also with rain in the first part of the race but in the end, we stayed in the bubble stayed calm and the team did a really good job. Mezgec also crashed, but in the end he was there. The team was really strong today, the two TT guys came to help in the finish so that was really good, and we took the victory again here on day one so it was a really good day.”
Peter Weening – Sport Director
“We had a plan, we didn’t want to make any jokes so we started riding straight away with Alessandro De Marchi. Once the break was up the road, De Marchi did a really good job, keeping it always in a range between 3:00 and 4:00 minutes. So, everything worked out like how we planned. The only pity was with 20km that Mezgec crashed and he’s an important part of the chain for Dylan’s lead-out. Mezgec still came back up in the last kilometre and brought Elmar Reinders into a good position. Elmar then did a real good job putting Dylan in a perfect position with 300 metres to go. Kristoff came over the top of Dylan but Dylan was able to still win, so it was a very good victory.”
2024 Tour of Slovenia – stage 1 results:
1 GROENEWEGEN Dylan Team Jayco AlUla 20 30 10″ 4:35:00
2 KRISTOFF Alexander Uno-X Mobility 15 18 6″ ,,
3 BAUHAUS Phil Bahrain – Victorious 10 12 4″ ,,
2024 Tour of Slovenia – General classification:
1 GROENEWEGEN Dylan Team Jayco AlUla 20 30 10″ 4:35:00
2 KRISTOFF Alexander Uno-X Mobility 15 18 6″ ,,
3 BAUHAUS Phil Bahrain – Victorious 10 12 4″ ,,
