Dylan Groenewegen stresses importance of racing Dauphiné: "This tough race in the legs will take me further in the Tour"
Cycling
Dylan Groenewegen has been a surprise name at the startlist of the Critérium du Dauphiné due to the difficult profiles, and he has indeed been dropped from the peloton on all three opportunities so far in which he had the chance to fight for a stage win.
In an interview with Wielerflits the 28-year old admits that he knew this would be a possibility, but it was a conscious choice of calendar to travel to France for the week: “We knew this in advance and we also knew that it would be fifty-fifty whether I would still join," he said. "It is also not easy that the early break always stays ahead for a long time, so that the first peloton has to keep driving at full speed. I will take these tough finals with me towards the Tour later on.”
With stages one, two and five behind where Groenewegen was one of the main favourites behind, it's safe to say he should likely leave the race empty handed. It didn't help that his main competitors, Wout van Aert and Ethan Hayter, are terrific climbers whose teams have made the stage very hard on several occasions for the pure sprinters. In addition, the lack of other pure sprinters that could help him further weights down on the Team BikeExchange - Jayco leader.
His place at the Tour de France has even been questioned around social media. Team DS Matt White has brushed out such idea. "Dylan doesn't have to worry about his position. He gets enough men with him to make a good sprint train. We knew that this Dauphiné would be difficult for him, but we are also convinced that these tough stages will make him better for the Tour."
Groenewegen has even gone as far as saying he's reaching top form: “It sounds a bit crazy now because I'm still empty-handed. But the shape is better than ever. That may also indicate the level of this price. For a pure sprinter it is very difficult to survive the finals here. We know what we are doing and we also know that the Tour is the main goal of the year.”
Today the peloton will race into Gap, however the day's hills are likely to be too much for the Dutchman to survive once again - despite the risks of another breakaway succeeding. He stresses that he isn't in the race with negative feedback.
"You can't train against the hardness in this race. If you look at the wattages over the whole day, this is a very tough competition. I hear that from the other riders too. Of course it would have been nice for the confidence to win a stage, but this tough race in the legs will take me further in the Tour than being successful in a flat stage race," he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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#Dauphine 🇫🇷 Not to be for us today as the climbs prove too much in the end. Van Aert (TJV) wins stage 5 🏁
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