Dylan Groenewegen eyes more stage victories at the Tour: "Sprinting is fun. But with the likes of Pogacar, it's not easy to even finish a Grand Tour"
Cycling
Wearing Dutch tricolor and his signature "inquistior" sunglasses, Dylan Groenewegen was able to take a massive victory at last year's Tour de France even in a role of an outsider. This puts his total count to 6 stages at the Tour, putting Groenewegen within a shooting distance of Dutch all-time greats Joop Zoetemelk, Jan Raas and Gerrie Knetemann who all sit on 10 triumphs. The goal for 2025 seems to be set in stone.
"The Tour de France is simply the most important for me," Groenewegen told Wieler Revue at the training camp in Altea. "It's always number one for me."
The Dutch speedster automatically looks with one eye at the opening stage in Lille. For the fast men, there is normally a chance for the first yellow jersey. "I just want to say that if it works out in the fifth stage, that's fine too. Of course, the yellow jersey would be a nice bonus, but I'll take it for granted if there are a few more stage wins and there is no yellow in between."
Training
In what is very likely to be dubbed the 'era of Tadej Pogacar', the life of a pure sprinter is not easy. The race are becoming increasingly rapid and every uphill section is an opportunity to blow the race to pieces. The 31-year-old Groenewegen didn't want to sleep on roses and thus swapped his coach for one would suit his "new" training style better earlier this season.
Groenewegn goes on to highlight that training to be a sprinter has become more and more of a mind sport. "Sprinting is fun, but you have to be able to get to that sprint. With Pogacar and guys like that, it's generally going faster and faster. The level just has to go up to be able to finish a grand tour as a sprinter."
"Finding a balance between your sprint and your base is a fine line. You have to balance on that. Especially for the trainer, it has become more of a mind sport. Of course I also think about it and am working on it, but I mainly leave that task to my trainer."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- This shows so well you’ve never ventured out to a cycling event and checked out spectators.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- I preferred the one about amateur riders and passing (perhaps to explain why he can’t ride at 220 which would probably be more effective to return to shape).Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Not just ManU, far worse in some minority sports ventures.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- From your writing it sounds like you’ve been sharing your views with people here for quite a while, quite presumouptuous for a new profile.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Which is amazing given his weight and size, though, unlike in boxing and some rare instances we haven’t a clue what his fighting weight was. Anybody know why these “public” figures floated around are considered as being accurate?Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- That’s a first point, everyone can have an off year or just stagnate before a new upward cycle. What would have been more interesting is including Skjelmose’s performance into the discussion, things have also been expected from him after several performances in the past but he hasn’t really progressed either, his TdF was basically what you would have expected but he’s 26 and been kind of stuck at this level for at least 2-3 years. Maybe he’s a late developer or maybe he needs something to change but as manager I’d be just as demanding and worried about both. Perhaps the recruitment concept was to have enough talent so at least one every year would be in shape and they’ve just been unlucky. Don’t want to rub it in but you could even say Mads lost a notch, so is it the riders or is it more to do with the team?Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Bingo...I was also going to say that young pretty women are obsessed Pogi fan girls... who are chasing him. All glossy "____" (blank) about Tadej. PS: You can all fill in the "blank" yourselves, whatever you prefer. The definition of glossy is: It looks unusually shiny, glazed over, watery, or vacant/unfocused.PogiSloFans12-11-2026
- Are you able to discuss ANYTHING without making a reference back to your Special 1? It’s almost as if you’re paid by his marketing team to improve his ranking in search results.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- PogiSloFansUpToDate: The Tadej Pogačar Foundation has awarded scholarships for the 2026/2027 school and academic year in Slovenia. It received more than 60 applications from young people who have faced cancer, and all of them were approved. This year, Pogi's Foundation has therefore signed scholarship agreements with 63 recipients, totalling €166,000. This is almost double last year’s amount, when it awarded 35 scholarships worth €94,000. Pogačar: "We believe in you and your dreams. Now I’m cheering for you."PogiSloFans12-11-2026
- as we all like the david-style rebels, he will leave a gap.Ketterechts12-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment