Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-Alula) won the opening stage of the Tour de Hongrie in Szentgotthárd, coming late with speed to beat Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Caleb Ewan (Lotto Dstny) as some of the fastest finishers in the sport clashed in Hungary.
Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadier) was one of several riders involved in a crash with one kilometre to go. The Colombian suffered road rash to his right shoulder and right thigh. He took several minutes to recover but slowly rode to the finish of the stage. His teammate Luke Plapp was also involved.
The high-speed finale of the 168.8km stage saw several crashes as the sprint trains fought for position. Riders crashed on the right of the road before a ripple effect went through the peloton and included Bernal and others.
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Groenewegen was out of position after losing his lead out train due to the late crash but found a way back up to the front with help from lead-out man Luka Mezgec. He then used his elbows to defend his position on the Bora-Hansgrohe lead out before using his unique speed to catapult ahead of Ewan and Bennett. His well-timed bike throw gave him the win ahead of the Irishman.
Groenewegen is the first leader of the five-day Tour de Hongrie and so pulled on the yellow race leader’s jersey following the stage. This was the Dutch sprinter’s 66th career win and his second at the Tour de Hongrie after a first win in 2022.
“For sure it was a hectic finish but what we expected before the race, due to some wind from the back, which made it a really fast finale,” Groenewegen explained.
“It was also a bit up and down on big roads that made it a bit hectic. There was a bit of stress but for every team, it was the same.
“Our team was really good at the right moment. I got a bit boxed in but Bora was there with a lead-out and and had Mezgec for my lead out, so I went in the slipstream of Danny Van Poppel, then it was a really nice sprint between me and Sam Bennett.
“It was close but in the end, I got the victory. A close finish is also a win and it’s a nice way to start the Tour de Hongrie like this.”
Before the sprinters took control, Matus Stocek (ATT Investments), Charles Planet (Team Novo Nordisk), Balasz Rózsa (Epronex-Hungary Cycling Team), Zétény Szijártó (Hungary) and Ward Vanhoof (Team Flanders-Baloise) formed the break of the day. They were kept under control by Jayco AlUla, Soudal-QuickStep and Bora-Hansgrohe but shared the intermediate sprints and mountain prizes.
The breakaway was caught with 27 km to go, but Stocek picked up eight bonus seconds in the intermediate sprints and so is second overall, just two seconds down on Groenewegen, who was awarded a ten-second time bonus for his victory.
Thursday’s 175.3km second stage of the Tour de Hongrie is from Zalaegerszeg to Keszthely and is likely to see another sprint finish.
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