Dylan Groenewegen loses only to Belgian star sprinters at Scheldeprijs: "They had that extra gear link that I no longer had"

Dylan Groenewegen sprinted to third place in the Scheldeprijs. In Schoten he had to bow down before the fast Belgians Jasper Philipsen and winner Tim Merlier.

"I had some chain problems one kilometer from the finish," the Dutchman looks back on the final. "I lost my lead-out, but we found each other again about 500 meters from the finish. Then I followed him. That was good work, but because of that I started the sprint a little too early, in the wind. Merlier was just out of the wind and had that extra gear link that I no longer had. Philipsen clapped over it. I think this is just a right podium."

Philipsen passed Groenewegen after the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider was initially locked up. Groenewegen stated that something like this always happens in a sprint. "Certainly in the Scheldeprijs. There was another crash now, so let's hope everyone is okay. Other than that we just saw a nice sprint. You're always a bit stuck on the left, because they come over them on the right at speed. Merlier was already a bit ahead and I wanted to catch some slipstream, so Philipsen was a bit boxed-in. But he came out quickly at the end. That is sprinting, that is part of it."

What are Groenewegen's next goals? "I've been slowing down a bit for about a week now. Then I will build up to the Tour de Hongrie. I will leave for Spain on Tuesday to complete a good internship there and then build up towards the Tour de France."