Dylan Groenewegen came back from a late crash to take a close second at the Bredene Koksijde Classic.
The Dutchman was just centimetres away from taking the win, after big leadout from Luka Mezgec into the final straight.
Much of the race was defined by crosswinds which saw the peloton split into pieces, but Team Jayco AlUla was always near to the front. Unfortunately, Groenewegen hit the ground when a rider from another team misjudged a corner, but he was soon back on his bike and chasing.
Mezgec remained in the front group, which had been drastically reduced by the impact of the crash, while Groenewegen had teammates behind helping him to chase. After a big effort by Team Jayco AlUla and other squads, Groenewegen was able to join forces with Mezgec again before the final two local laps.
Some late attacks sought to prevent a sprint to the line, but they would be unsuccessful. With the finish in sight, Mezgec did a big pull on the front to lead Groenewegen out. In the end, it was the tiniest of margins that separated Groenewegen from the win.
Dylan Groenewegen:
“I had a crash in a bad moment and after my crash I was back in the fourth group. Then I had to ride from group to group to get back to the front. Luckily, Luka was there in the final and he was able to put me into pole position for the win but sadly one guy passed me just before the finish line.”
Tristan Hoffman (Sport Director)
“Everything came together after the hilly zone and we were in a good position, because on the way back we had a lot of crosswinds. Then, Dylan crashed at the worst moment of the race, at the beginning of the crosswinds as we started to go back towards the finish so he was stuck behind.
The Team Jayco AlUla riders who were with him pulled really hard for a long time in that group, together with some other riders, to come back. Dylan finally made it to the front group and Mezgec was there the whole time, so that was perfect. In the finish, Luka did a really good leadout for Dylan but just on the finish line he was beaten by one rider.
Unfortunately, we didn’t win but it was really good to see Dylan up there and fighting for the victory. The next race will be De Panne and it’s good that he has a race like this in the legs because it’s different to a stage race. Now, he’s used to this way of racing and hopefully he will be able to fight for the victory there.”
2024 Bredene Koksijde Classic results
1. Luca Mozzato 04:46:31
2. Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco AlUla) st
3. Gerben Thijssen st
Photo: Sprint Cycling
