LottoNL-Jumbo's Dylan Groenewegen sprinted to victory in the second stage of the Three Days Of West Flanders race in Belgium
Stage two which was from Bruge to Harelbeke and was 176kms long, had Tom Bohli of BMC as it's leader.
However, he was not in the break which contained Loius Vervaeke, Alaphilippe, Baldo, Cornu, Denz, Restrepo, Rickaert and Van Breussegem who led for most of the stage before they were caught and the sprint teams were able to have their day.
In that sprint, it was Dylan Groenewegen of Team LottoNl-Jumbo who took the win in a time of 3.47.09 ahead of Tosh Van Der Sande of Lotto Soudal, Baptiste Planckaert of Wallonie Bruxelles - Group Protect, Timothy Dupont of Veranda's Willems Cycling Team and Gediminas Bagdonas of AG2R La Mondiale.
“With two kilometres to go, Robert Wagner crashed,” Groenewegen said to his team's press office: “From that moment, I had to do it all by myself. There were three riders still in front of the peloton and because I was on the front of the peloton when we caught them, just before the final turn, I decided to start sprinting immediately. I was able to hold the lead fortunately. It’s nice to start the season in a good way, so I wanted to peak early, this season. That’s what I’m doing at the moment and my shape’s getting better every week.
"It was a pretty agitated sprint. Previously, we lost Robert Wagner 1.5 kilometres from the finish. I launched my effort at the right time. I could win quite easily.
"At 1.5 kilometres from the finish, our preparation was something destroyed when we lost Robert Wagner. From then on it went quite hectic. There were indeed two riders on the attack but they were ultimately caught, making it a mass sprint.
“We are in a dual position with Martin Keizer in second overall while we try to win, but on the other hand, I also look at the overall classification via bonuses.
"We also have Martijn (Keizer) for the general classification. Tomorrow the weather forecast is not good. They expect rain and strong winds. Today we played my card. On the final day we will see what we can do for Keizer. He can certainly hold his own in bad weather. With the team we will do everything to help him to victory.
“The season has so far been good for me. I had already won a stage in the Tour of Valencia and now this first road stage. At Dwars door Vlaanderen and Ghent-Wevelgem, I will get my chance. I want to be good again. These races suit me.
“Personally, I keep my momentum early in the season. This is my second win of the season after a stage of the Tour of Valencia. I think I'm almost ready for my next goal: Gent-Wevelgem. "