“Biniam Girmay did a good lead-out for me. I have to thank him” - Dylan Groenewegen in jovial mood after Ronde van Limburg victory

After victory in his opening race of the season at the Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana, Dylan Groenewegen has had to wait a long while for another taste of success. Finally though, five months later, the Dutch sprinter has emerged victorious again at the Ronde van Limburg.

“It's been a while, so it's certainly nice to cross the line with my hands in the air again. I was often close, but it was always just not quite there," reflected the Team Jayco AlUla powerhouse in his post-race interview. "I have to thank the team for never losing confidence in me. I always felt the confidence of the team in the past period. We always went for it, but unfortunately we were more often than not rewarded. But that is also part of cycling. The team knows what I can do when I am given the freedom to sprint."

“It was a very difficult final. It first went down and then steeply up again,” continues the 30-year-old who in the end, was a pretty comfortable winner ahead of Alpecin-Deceuninck's Simon Dehairs and Lotto Dstny's Arnaud De Lie in the sprint for the line.

“The team kept wanting to speed up, but I kept saying that we still had to wait. We ultimately waited until 1.2 km from the finish. Luke Durbridge unfortunately broke off his chain, but thankfully Elmar Reinders did a very good lead-out,” continues Groenwegen, who also gave a cheeky thanks to Biniam Girmay, who opened the sprint before fading in the finale. “Girmay actually does a good lead-out for me. I have to thank him. I looked back at the images from recent years and really wanted to be the first through the last bend. That worked.”

With the Tour de France on the cards for Groenewegen later this summer, could the Dutchman be hitting his stride at just the right time? “We know what the big goal is,” he concludes. “It is now a matter of building up even further. The last few weeks I have been a bit sick and ailing, but I feel better and getting better. This is good for self-confidence.”