2020 Tour Down Under Men

Groenewegen: Ewan Is Best Bike Handler In Bunch Sprints

Groenewegen: Ewan Is Best Bike Handler In Bunch Sprints

Groenewegen considered his rivals, naming Ewan the best bike handler in bunch sprints.

Jan 21, 2020 by Gregor Brown
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Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) considered all of his rivals, naming Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) the best bike handler in bunch sprints.

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Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) considered all of his rivals, naming Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) the best bike handler in bunch sprints.

The Dutchman went head to head with Ewan in the last Tour de France, winning one stage to the Aussie's three. Ewan just began his season in the Tour Down Under with the win in the opening criterium and seventh in stage one.

"Yeah, he's really, really small. He's also really fast," Groenewegen told FloBikes during the team's training camp in Alicante, Spain.

"Of course for him, it's hard to beat me too. So, yeah, we have some really nice battles."

Ewan switched to team Lotto-Soudal ahead of the 2019 season which allowed him to finally debut in the Tour de France. He did so in style, winning stages 11, 16, and 21 on the Champs-Élysées.

"Maybe the most technical sprinter is Caleb Ewan," continued Groenewegen. "He has a good sprint train. Maybe not the best.

"He chooses one wheel, and you saw him in the Tour de France, he chose always my wheel. And I go a little bit too early. Then he can make a jump."

Groenewegen's stage win added to the team's haul of four stage wins in the 2019 Tour. Jumbo-Visma won the team time trial, and placed third overall with Steven Kruijswijk.

For the season, it was the second best in terms of wins. Jumbo-Visma pulled in 51 – 15 of those came thanks to Groenewegen.

He won in Paris-Nice – ahead of Ewan – the Tour de France, and three stages in the Tour of Britain.

"Goal for 2020? Of course, to win a lot of races with especially the Giro d'Italia is really important and also the Vuelta to win stages and with the start in Holland. I look forward to start there."