"The victory is still missing": Dylan Groenewegen slightly bitter after failing to complete his Giro mission

At the end of the day, it did not work out for Unibet Rose Rockets. The much-desired stage win will have to wait for another year. The French-Dutch team pinned their hopes for Grand Tour debut onto their marquee signing Dylan Groenewegen, but the experienced sprinter could not reach further than third place in stage 3. The final day in Rome was a solid chance too, but the Dutchman ended up in fourth place despite a great work of his leadout.

With one kilometer to go, the 32-year-old was dropped off by his right-hand man Elmar Reinders in the wheel of Paul Magnier, which seemed like a perfect launching pad towards a great result. And while an eventual fourth place is no disaster, what counts is a victory which went to Jonathan Milan.

"I was fighting a bit for position with [Paul] Magnier," Groenewegen told reporters at the finish. "This is where we [both] lost a little bit of speed, but I think the fastest today won, and that was [Jonathan] Milan."

Even though the circuit in Rome didn't hide many altitude meters, the uphill finish was to be taken into account in sprint preparation. Has it perhaps proven too difficult? "No, it's just about good momentum, and I think Magnier lost a little bit of the momentum, and me too," the Dutchman dismissed the idea, explaining the outcome as a simple loss of speed. "Then he [Milan] came from behind, and that was how it happened."

So, was it a successful Giro d'Italia for Unibet Rose Rockets? Or a disappointment? And does Groenwegen see the cup half-filled or half-empty?

"I think that was the big goal for this Giro, to get a victory. We came really, really close. We did some really good leadouts. We learned a lot," analyzed Groenewegen. "But the victory is still missing. So that's a bit of a pity, but we can't change it anymore."

Dylan Groenewegen will now take two weeks off action to refill batteries before moving on to his next objectives. For now, Baloise Belgium Tour starting June 17 is his closest appointment.