2 second places, but no third time lucky for Dylan Groenewegen at the AlUla Tour: "We came for the victory, but it is what it is"
Cycling
The AlUla Tour came to a close yesterday, with Tom Pidcock securing the overall victory, but for Team Jayco AlUla, it was a race filled with near misses and moments of what could have been.
On the final stage, Dylan Groenewegen came agonisingly close to victory once again, finishing in second place. It marked his third runner-up finish of the race, following another second place on stage three, while Alan Hatherly also finished as runner-up on stage four behind overall winner Pidcock.
Hatherly had started the last stage sitting in third place on the general classification, but a chaotic day in the crosswinds saw him slip down the standings, missing out on a spot on the final podium. Despite this setback, the world mountain bike champion showed his talent in his first race with the team, leaving both himself and Jayco AlUla optimistic about his potential on the road.
Reflecting on the final stage, Groenewegen shared his thoughts in a team press release:
"It was a hard day, but we knew that it would be because of the wind, there were some really open parts in the desert. So it made it a really nice day for racing, but also really hard.
“The first echelon we missed a little bit, but after that in the final I think we were really sharp. In the final the boys did really well and kept me out of the wind, they did a really good job.
“Maybe with 300 to go I was a bit squeezed in and in the end, I was a little bit too late, I came with speed, but Moschetti had really good timing and that was necessary today. It’s two times second for me, we came for the victory, but it is what it is."
Despite missing out on the stage win, Groenewegen and Jayco can be content that they showed early promise in 2025.
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- He already is the GOAT. Merckx rode decades ago when the sport was far less professional and the opposition weaker. You might as well say Djokovic is approaching Rod Laver or Messi is getting near to Stanley Matthews. If a sport advances and you are at the top, you are the GOAT.Renz09-03-2025
- Excellent point about when it’s too late to respond. I was watching the ‘23 Flanders race again, and the break, the bridge, and Mads Peterson all did the right thing. Not enough, but still, the attempt was the thing. I love watching Pogacar race, but I am really hoping for more of that kind of early hard attack in the coming months.RidesHills09-03-2025
- Pure class and nice for him to wait. After Tadej shared some liquids earlier. And besides Tadej took out that gap pretty instantly. No offense to Pidcock but he sat up at the top of a climb with the bridge over was obvious. And this is meant as no offense.mij09-03-2025
- What a ride! 💪
leedorney09-03-2025 - Pure classCrashjames08-03-2025
- If you have a hack to watch it on TV ;-)Mistermaumau08-03-2025
- Katalin Szőke, how many media do you think ever got that right? In Britain, you’re asking for trouble to register your kids’ name with an accent, in France, even something as simple as á is refused as their software doesn’t have it.Mistermaumau08-03-2025
- Awesome job today and I hope you can have a lot opportunities! Forza, Connor!
maria2024202408-03-2025 - Sorry, but a lot of cyclists can testify that there is truth to this training/race day paradox.Mistermaumau08-03-2025
- Cyclingnews: Pogačar and Pidcock are on Le Tolfe. This is the first of 2 times they’ll do this one -the next time, it’ll be the last of the race. Was that a tribute to Murray Walker?Mistermaumau08-03-2025