Dylan Groenewegen won stage three of the Tour de France in a four-way photo finish in Sondeborg, Denmark.
Groenewegen narrowly beat yellow jersey wearer Wout van Aert, Jasper Philipsen and Peter Sagan in a dramatic finish to the 182km stage from Vejle as the Danish Grand Depart came to a dramatic end.
Groenewegen rode the wheels and came around first Sagan and then Van Aert to claim his fifth career Tour stage win and first since 2019.
After Fabio Jakobsen claimed an emotional stage victory on Saturday to complete his comeback from the life-threatening injuries he suffered at the Tour of Poland in 2020, Sunday was the turn of the rider he collided with two years ago.
Groenewegen did not face the physical recovery Jakobsen did from that incident, but had spoken of the mental scars after he faced death threats and abuse in its wake – with the Dutchman also handed a nine-month ban by world governing body the UCI.
"It was a long way (back)," Groenewegen said. "I want to say thank you to my team and my family and friends for getting me back to the Tour in good shape. It's beautiful.
"Not physically but mentally it’s been a hard time of course after all that happened. This is for my wife and my son, it means a lot."
Groenewegen said he had been held up in a late crash that split the peloton a little over 10km from the line, though he was in the right place when it mattered.
"Yesterday I was a little bit angry with myself but today, though I was a long time boxed in and involved in a crash with nine kilometres to go, my team brought me back into position and I stayed calm to the end," he added.
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