Paris-Nice: Groenewegen wins stage 2

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Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) survived another dramatic day to make it two wins out of two at Paris-Nice. The race leader gave it everything to stay out in the front group to beat Ivan Garcia Cortina (Bahrain-Merida) and Philippe Gilbert (Deceuninck-QuickStep) in Bellegarde on stage 2.

With his second win, Groenewegen keeps hold of the overall race lead for at least another day. He leads Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) by 12 seconds after the Polish rider came back from a puncture to make it into a select leading group, with Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) another second behind in third place overall.

"Our team did a very good job, putting me in a great position. It was very hard, and there were just seven of us left at the end, and then I saw the line – but I was waiting and waiting. [Matteo] Trentin was going, and I was going on the right side, and it was enough. It was a very hard stage," said Groenewegen.

"Sometimes you're in the second group, sometimes you're in the first group, but in the end, we were in the first group. It was very hard to stay there, but the team kept me in a very good position. We've won two in a row, so I'm very happy. We'll celebrate today, but tomorrow is another day."

Hard was definitely the right word to describe the stage, with winds causing havoc for almost the entire 165 kilometres. Thanks to his team, Groenewegen was rarely in the wrong place throughout the day. The Dutchman did lose touch on a couple of occasions but always came back before he had lost too much ground.

The final loop of a little over 20 kilometres saw the road change direction three times, giving the riders a headwind, a cross-headwind, and finally some more crosswinds. As the leaders approached the final turn, there were still several sprinters sitting in the front group, but only Groenewegen and Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) could hold on as they hit the crosswinds with just over five kilometres to go.

For the second day running, Luke Rowe (Team Sky) expertly put the hammer down and blew what was left of the peloton apart, taking with him seven other riders. The gap over the chasing group was never more than a few seconds but it would be enough to see that the victory was contested by this small group of seven after Rowe sat up with just over a kilometre to go having done his job.

Trentin was the first to strike, launching his sprint up the barriers on the left side of the road, but he could not hold off the charging Groenewegen, who would not be denied a second win. The Italian was also passed by Garcia Cortina and Gilbert, and had to settle for fourth.

How it happened

After the opening stage was blown apart by the wind, the riders knew they could expect more of the same as they lined up in Les Bréviaires on Monday morning.

Groenewegen started the day in the leader's yellow jersey after expertly navigating the chaos of the weekend to win the sprint finish of stage 1. Meanwhile, a number of pre-race favourites, such as defending champion Marc Soler (Movistar), were hoping they would be on the right side of the splits.

A trio of riders – Damien Gaudin (Direct Energie), Nicolas Edet (Cofidis) and Alessandro De Marchi (CCC Team) – took advantage of the tailwind at the start to try to escape the clutches of the peloton. Gaudin had already been on the attack on stage 1 and wore the polka-dot jersey of the mountains classification leader.

The three built a slim advantage before the wind changed direction after around 30 kilometres of racing and caused the peloton to fracture, as it had done the previous day. A group of 18 riders, which included the race leader Groenewegen, formed the first 'peloton'. Gaudin would have just enough time to increase his king of the mountains lead on the Côte de Senlisse before the leaders were brought back.

Following the catch, the pace eased off and a large number of riders made it back to the front group, but it was just the eye of the storm for the pack. It was only a matter of time before the wind picked up again and with just over 100 kilometres remaining, the peloton was in pieces.

Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) was one of the first victims as Trek-Segafredo and UAE Team Emirates drove the pace. Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) and George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) were caught out, too. Meanwhile, Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) and Egan Bernal (Team Sky) survived the split to make it into the front group. Groenewegen and fellow sprinters Marcel Kittel (Katusha-Alpecin), Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott), Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) and John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) would also make the cut.

Crashes also came as riders struggled to keep in touch with those in front of them. Warren Barguil (Arkea-Samsic) and Gorka Izagirre (Astana) were among the fallers and both would end up abandoning the race as a result of their falls. Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) had made it into the front group, but fell victim to a puncture with just under 40 kilometres to go. Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First) crashed around the same time – and would later be diagnosed with a fractured collarbone – reducing the leading group to just 23 riders.

With just over 20 kilometres to go, the race crossed the finish line to begin the final loop, where the leading group held almost a minute's gap over the chasers. That would change as the course turned into a headwind, and with 15 kilometres remaining, the chasers – including Yates and Kwiatkowski – were tantalisingly close to the leaders.

The triangle-shaped loop meant that with each right turn the direction of the wind would change, and it was a desperate effort from the chasers to make the junction before the crosswinds returned. They managed just that, clawing back the gap with 10 kilometres to go, but the group had taken a beating.

As the race turned right for a final time, the wind swept across the move and Luke Rowe (Team Sky) set to work on the front for his teammates Bernal and Kwiatkowski. Having yo-yoed out of the front group a couple of times throughout the day, Groenewegen was a match for the wind on this occasion. After his mighty turn, Rowe would drop off and leave just seven riders in front.

Quintana and Kittel, who had done so well to be in the front group for most of the day, didn't have the power to make the juncture this time out, along with a large number of riders. In the end, Quintana would lose just five seconds as a large chase group formed. Meanwhile, up front, Groenewegen was the strongest for the second day running and claimed the stage victory.

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