Tour de France: Groenewegen wins stage 7

Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) claimed his first win of the 2019 Tour de France on stage 7, after a chaotic sprint into Chalon-sur-Saône.

The Dutchman was forced to change his line several times in a messy finale, and although he was forced to launch his sprint from a long way out, he had enough to edge out Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) and Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe). Italian sprinter Elia Viviani had the support of a full Deceuninck-QuikcStep lead-out train with less than 800m to go but suffered a front flat and was swamped at the line, finishing sixth.

Overnight leader Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) finished safely inside the peloton on the longest stage of this year’s race to retain his lead for a second day.

For Groenewegen, this was the Dutchman’s fourth Tour stage win of his career but his first of this campaign. At the finish he had to fight for Sagan’s wheel and again for Ewan’s as the Jumbo-Visma lead out once again faltered at the last, but Groenewegen proved his worth with a commanding turning of speed.

After a crash on stage 1 and fifth in Nancy, the 26-year-old finally had his victory. Ewan, inside the top three for the third time in his debut race, was almost faultless in his execution. He timed his sprint well and came through the right side as Viviani slowed, but the Australian was simply beaten by Groenewegen's power at the line. Sagan’s third place finish improved his standing in the race for the green jersey.

"Every time I sprint against Caleb [Ewan], it’s always very close. He’s a very good sprinter, but today I could beat him and I’m very happy with this result," the winner said at the finish.

"The first day I crashed really hard, and the next days I was really fucked, but yesterday I felt good again. Today, my team worked so hard for me and we took the win, so I’m very happy with this win.

"We took the lead very early, but that was good. It was a tight final with some hectic corners ,then we closed in and got boxed in with 500 metres, but I boxed myself out and went with 250 metres to go and saw that Caleb Ewan was coming, but it was enough.”

How it unfolded

After Thursday’s foray into the Vosges mountains, the Tour de France returned to the flat roads with the longest stage of the race at 230km. Breaks have often formed in the opening kilometers of this year’s race, and stage 7 was no different when Stéphane Rossetto for Cofidis and Yoann Offredo for Wanty were the only two riders willing to form an attacking alliance. Only the staunchest of Tony Martin (Jumbo-Visma) or Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) fans would have found the next 200km bearable, let alone enjoyable, as cameras panned between the break and the German and Dane swapping turns on the front.

Martin and Asgreen, later joined by Maxime Monfort (Lotto Soudal), held the break at a handful of minutes for the majority of the stage, while an early crash saw Tejay van Garderen (EF Education First) and Mike Teunissen (Jumbo-Visma) both hit the ground.

There was little else to report until the intermediate sprint with around 30km to go, where Sonny Colbrelli edged out the rest of the sprinters after the break had already passed through. A series of accelerations soon followed, with Daniel Martin (UAE Team Emirates) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) both caught out. Although the pair had teammates for cover, they were soon distanced by almost 40 seconds and but for a slowing within the bunch the sleepy afternoon in the saddle could have turned into nightmare.

In the end, when the race finally rose from its slumber and breakaway riders were caught, the sprinters teams massed on the front of the peloton. The opening week of this year’s Tour has only proved two – if you count Teunissen’s surprise win – pure sprint stages, and this was an opportunity for the likes of Groenewegen, Colbrelli, and Ewan to open their Tour de France accounts.

The technical finale was navigated without incident, and it looked with 1,000m to go that Viviani would be taking his second win of the race. He had three men remaining as the bunch hurtled towards the line, but despite the numbers his puncture derailed his hopes. He was quickly swamped with Ewan and Groenewegen on his flanks.

Groenewegen was forced to go early after his positioning was less than ideal, but his speed to the line was unquestionable.

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