Groenewegen left Visma, but now faces lead-outs by Van der Poel: "That’s when the glasses fly through the bus"

There was a time when newspapers were writing pages about him, but now Dylan Groenewegen is no longer at the top of Dutch cycling. The 31-year-old sprint star, however, continues to accumulate victories, with the total already standing at 74 after this year. IDLProCycling.com interviewed Groenewegen, who talks about sprinting, improving, Merijn Zeeman, fatherhood, and much more...

Matt White first joined us before we spoke to Groenewegen. The Jayco-AlUla team boss has firm confidence in Groenewegen as his sprint leader for 2025. 2I think Dylan showed at the Tour that on a good day, he can defeat anyone," he refers to the stage win on day six. "He must have been disappointed in the first week because he had the legs to win more than once. However, we didn't get the lead-out as a team, and that's where the challenge lies for us."

"I'm confident that at his age, he can still sprint at the highest level," Matt adds. A conclusion that follows after three years of working intensively together. 2We have both changed. When Dylan joined us, he rode a few races towards the Tour, and we changed that. He is only a pure sprinter, so it was at the cost of his explosiveness when we tried to improve his endurance. We did less volume in 2024 and more specific sprinting. That's a constant evolution, with speed remaining the most important thing. Philipsen, Kooij, and others are climbing better, with fewer opportunities for the true sprinters."

To stay ahead of those more sturdy sprinters, Groenewegen and Jayco-AlUla are looking for the final pieces of the puzzle. "We will do the same as in 2024, focusing on speed and sprinting in the Tour. Hopefully, he will have won five to 10 times before the Tour starts. We will experiment with his sprint train with Max Walscheid, who will compete more often. There are about six chances for Dylan on the tour, and we have to make it happen on track. So far, that has failed."

Read more below the photo.

Interview Dylan Groenewegen

"Your sports director says, if we had managed to get that sprint train a little better on track in 2024, Dylan might have won two or three stages in the first week of the Tour." Despite frequent setbacks, does that best reflect how good you were in recent years?

"Euhm, yes, with phases for sure. But that's also inherent to a sprint train. If we had done this, we might have won." But in the end, you just have to be the first to pass the line, and if you don't, you don't win. According to him, Jasper Philipsen also had his ideas about the first week of the Tour and could have won six. Our idea is that we certainly could have taken two or three because the level was just very good in the first week. You know it has to be spot on in the Tour, whereas the form was better than one stage win."

You have always been quite enthusiastic about the sprint train at Jayco-AlUla, pointing out you guys were still figuring it all out. It is now your fourth year with this train; can you now demand it is completely up to speed?

"Well, behind the scenes, that happens, haha! After the race, you all have emotions, and we discuss that on the bus. What is said, there is constructive criticism, and that stays between us. I am like that; when everyone has done the maximum, the result is what it is. It's difficult to go up against a lead-out by Mathieu van der Poel. It's up to us to make a better plan and improve compared to last year. Although I think we did do well in phases too."

So, now that you've been working together for so long, do you say that there are certain things that shouldn't go wrong in year four?

"Yes, right. Although after a third stage in this year's Tour, I am also the first to say that he screwed up. I am often the first to jump on the bus, and then the glasses fly through the air. I then have a few minutes, and the others know they must leave me alone. "I'll be fine tomorrow," they say. And then we won, and you immediately saw the joy within the team. We have such a cohesive group; we are together when we win. And if we don't win, we are disappointed together and show it to each other on the bus."

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Groenewegen demands the maximum from his sprint train, team and himself

According to White, you will try some things and get into a routine before the Tour. Do you have a big say in your train?

"Sure, that's also why I said last year before the Tour that we had to skip the Dauphiné. I had to train more, stay fresh, and go for a win in Slovenia. I also wanted to be a Dutch champion, so it was nice to head to the Tour with that jersey. I didn't have many teammates, but they did a great job. In 2025, we are a strong bunch for the sprint train, which will keep us sharp. They're all tough guys who can feel each other well."

If you say to yourself that you were SO good in the first week of the Tour, will you then also do pretty much everything the same in 2025?

"I started working with another trainer halfway through the season, about two months before the Tour. I got pretty sick in the spring on the AlUla Tour. I had quite an impact from that, and I suffered a lot. The whole spring, I was always aiming for 100 percent, but it just wasn't there. I was always second or third, which was great, but I lacked something to win. That was because of the illness, and the training sessions didn't work out how we wanted. Then we changed things, and apparently, my new coach pushed the right button."

It's not easy for sprinters in 2024: You have to train on climbing, but you also want to remain explosive. Do you feel you have the right balance right now?

"I am confident about that, although it is a narrow range. Because of races that turned out to be just a little heavier than we wanted, it backfired in 2023. With a Dauphiné included, I was too much on the climbing side. I did climb very well in the Tour then, it was very easy and enjoyable. But in the end, I didn't get a win for it. So we changed that, and we did win. In the first week, I was excellent, and we had also put everything into that to have the speed."

Do you ever miss Merijn Zeeman and his training sessions over the viaduct?

"No, not really. After my suspension (at the end of 2020, after causing a massive crash involving Fabio Jakobsen in Poland, ed.), Merijn's training sessions alstopped working I then switched teams because it was time for something different and a new coach. With that coach, I also won a stage in the Tour, so I didn't miss Merijn after I left. Cycling also changes, and so do training sessions. You have to keep yourself focused."

Where can a pure sprinter like you reap the rewards of a peloton that has gone completely haywire?

"I'm someone who does take a very extreme look at that with sponsors. I do those workouts - or puke workouts, as I call them - because I want to be the best and win stages in the Tour. Then I also demand the maximum from my sponsors, with the best bike, fastest tires, and a little detail with my glasses in the Tour and my kit. I demand the maximum from the people around me, and that cooperation goes constructively and well in this team."

Read more below the photo.

Groenewegen caused a stir in 2024 with a nose piece on his glasses in the Tour, for more aerodynamics

Groenewegen notices level difference in cycling peloton

Do you have to ask more of yourself nowadays than a few years ago? Back then, you might have won easily...

"In the Tour de France, everyone performs at their best and trains very hard. That was true ten years ago and will probably still be true ten years from now. You do notice that the level in the smaller races is also extremely high. I broke my collarbone in 2023, and my season was over. However, I wanted to race a few more times, so I still came back. I got second and fourth, but you no longer win if you're not 100 percent. You might have gotten away with that a few years ago."

Do you still do that viaduct training a lot?

"Yep, but not on the same viaduct anymore. People knew at one point that I was doing sprint training there, so that created spectators and people who joined in. It's great fun, but I also enjoy doing it alone. You have enough places in Spain to do such training, although I often do it on the same road as in my Jumbo days."

That suspension greatly impacted your career, but you are also a proud father. How much has that changed, let's say, before and after suspension?

"Of course, being a father changes you; I'm very proud of how the little one is doing and how things are going. Of course, we didn't have an easy start; most people know that. Family is number one, one hundred percent. Whatever happens, that comes before cycling at all times now."

Do you feel that you also tend to stop earlier now than before you became a father?

"Turning 40 sounds quite far away, but I'm still having a great time. I'm 31, and my family is still fully supportive of me. That is very important to me. The little one always liked the Tour de France, and he was able to join me on the podium at the Dutch National Championships. Those are great moments for later. I am not at all thinking about quitting right now. If I ever feel I can no longer give one hundred percent, I will be the first to say it is time. I want to end my cycling career in style and not just ride along. The moment will be there when I no longer feel like it."

Besides the standard goals, are there any new things on the horizon?

"This year, the Tour de France is already a great opportunity for sprinters with the first stage in line. And if you don't win that, there are still chances to win in the following days. I am focused on the yellow jersey, and to achieve that, I want to stay fit in the spring."

Is that more difficult in 2024?

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Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email: [email protected])      

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