After three seasons
Dylan Groenewegen and
Team Jayco AlUla will part ways. However until the end of the season the Dutch sprinter will still have opportunities; with Michael Matthews out of the race for health reasons and Ben O'Connor's lack of form, Groenewegen may still be the Australian team's top card for France.
"That will probably be with another team, but I can't say that yet. That has to remain between me and the team, but I am really looking forward to a next challenge," Groenewegen confirmed in an interview with NOS. After three seasons with the Australian outfit, this will be the final season of the partnership. However it can still be a successful one.
The first stage of the Tour will end in a bunch sprint and we will see the fast men go head to head for the yellow jersey. "As a sprinter you don't get such a chance often, the last one was six years ago. Then I fell, although Mike Teunissen won then and it was still a great day for us as a team. I hope that it will work out for me now, we are doing everything we can".
With a strong leadout and two recent wins at the Tour of Slovenia, motivation is certainly there. "I am definitely good enough to win the Tour, otherwise I wouldn't go there. Things are going well. I missed the spring a bit because of a concussion and a nasty crash in the Tirreno. After that it went from race to race, which doesn't really make you any better. In April, however, I only went to Spain, which is why I won the last races in which I sprinted".
The Dutchman didn't have an easy start to the season but since May he has racked up several and confidence as well inbetween which can come in very important over the coming weeks. "Things are going in the right direction again. I feel good about myself, with a beautiful child and a beautiful wife at home. Cycling is very important, but sometimes it comes second, because the family is of course the most important thing. If everything goes well there, I am also doing well".
"I can still be pissed off and sit on the bus for half an hour, so those guys know what time it is for the next day, because then I'm on edge. But I can put things into perspective better, it all gets put into perspective, when you're on the phone with your son 20 minutes after a race. The hunger is still there, though, and as long as I have that, I really enjoy cycling," he concluded.