Dylan Groenewegen sprints to victory on stage 1 of the Tour of Slovenia

Stage 1 of the Tour of Slovenia was a day well suited to the sprinters and it provided the tight and exciting finale that fans were hoping for. The main sprinters of the race were at the front into the first bunch sprint of the race, and here it was Dylan Groenewegen who took the victory.

The first stage of the race began in the coast on the city of Piran and a breakaway of four went up the road: Fabio Christen, Mihael Stajnar, Matic Zumer and Jaka Marolt. Marolt, the last survivor, was caught inside the final 10 kilometers, but nothing threatened a bunch sprint from taking place.

Team Jayco AlUla looked set for a perfect leadout but into the final corner, with around 500 meters to go, UAE Team Emirates - XRG brought their men to the front at the right time. However, Juan Sebastián Molano was nowhere to be seen, and Dylan Groenewegen managed to launch his sprint into the leadout of the UAE rider. It was then a very difficult task to keep the lead in the final meters, but the Dutch champion ultimately managed to hold off Phil Bauhaus and Manuel Peñalver.