Pedersen gets his first win in the rainbow jersey: Daily News Digest
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Hello again, CyclingTips readers.
One day after a crash at the Tour of Poland that left several people injured, Fabio Jakobsen remains in a coma, but the outlook seems to have improved somewhat from the publication time of yesterday’s Daily News Digest. Doctors have since said that the Dutch sprinter does not appear to have suffered brain or spinal injuries. That said, Jakobsen’s situation remains very serious, so hopefully more positive updates are still to come.
Dylan Groenewegen said on Twitter on Thursday morning that he “can’t find the words to describe how sorry I am for Fabio and others who have fallen or been hit.” Deceuninck-Quick-Step manager Patrick Lefevere, on the other hand, has said that he is filing a police complaint.
Meanwhile, racing did continue at the Tour of Poland, and stage 2 came down to another sprint finish. Mads Pedersen was the day’s big winner, nabbing what was his first victory in the rainbow jersey and first ever WorldTour-level win.
Read on for more …
Dane Cash
News Editor
What’s news
| Poland crash: Groenewegen apologizes, Lefevere seeking legal action
In the aftermath of the crash on the opening stage of the Tour of Poland that left Fabio Jakobsen and several others injured, Dylan Groenewegen has apologized, while Patrick Lefevere has confirmed that he is filing a police complaint.
“I hate what happened yesterday. I can’t find the words to describe how sorry I am for Fabio and others who have fallen or been hit,” Groenewegen wrote on Twitter in Dutch.
“At the moment, the health of Fabio is the most important thing. I think about him constantly.”
Jumbo-Visma said Thursday that Groenewegen had sustained a broken collarbone in the fall.
Deceuninck-Quick-Step manager Patrick Lefevere, meanwhile, reiterated comments he made in the immediate aftermath of the crash in an interview with Belga news agency.
“I stand behind what I said on Twitter. It was a very dirty move from Groenewegen,” Lefevere said, according to Belga. “We have already filed a complaint to the UCI and we will file a complaint to the Polish police, we will not just let this drop.”
A day after the crash, Jakobsen remains in the hospital in an induced coma.
| Pedersen gets his first win in the rainbow jersey
It may be August already, but from a race days perspective, world road champ Mads Pedersen did not have to wait all that long to pick up his first win in the rainbow jersey, nabbing his first ever WorldTour victory in the process. The 24-year-old Dane nabbed stage 2 of the Tour of Poland on Thursday in a bunch kick into Zabrze.
Pedersen’s Trek-Segafredo team led the way into the finale with a well-marshaled lead-out effort, and then Pedersen launched with some 200 meters to go. He held off a strong challenge from Pascal Ackermann to take the victory, with Ackermann in second and Davide Ballerini in third. Pedersen now sits atop the general classification four seconds ahead of Ackermann.
| Vlasov tops Porte on Ventoux
The second Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge saw some established stars doing battle on the iconic French climb on Thursday, but it was emerging talent Aleksandr Vlasov, Russia’s national road champion, who triumphed in the end.
Vlasov soloed out of a select group in the closing kilometers to take the UCI 1.1-rated win over Richie Porte, who nabbed runner-up honors 18 seconds later. Guillaume Martin rounded out the podium in third, ahead of a field that included climbing specialists like Fabio Aru, Nairo Quintana, and Miguel Ángel López.
| Mitchelton-Scott wins opening TTT at Czech Tour
Mitchelton-Scott triumphed in the stage 1 team time trial at the Czech Tour on Thursday, completing the 18-kilometer course in Unicov in 19:49. Sunweb nabbed runner-up honors on the day 25 seconds later, with Norway’s Uno-X team finishing in third on the same time ahead of several WorldTour outfits.
Luke Durbridge will take the race leader’s jersey into Friday’s stage 2.
| Geniez signs with Total-Direct Energie
Alexandre Geniez will join Pierre Latour in transferring from Ag2r La Mondiale to Total-Direct Energie next year, his new team announced on Thursday.
Geniez, 32, has been with Ag2r since 2017 after spending four years with the FDJ organization. The 32-year-old Frenchman counts three Grand Tour stage victories on his career palmares, winning Vuelta a España stages in 2013, 2016, and 2018. He will join Total-Direct Energie on a two-year deal.
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SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY NEWS DIGEST PODCASTToday’s feature image of Mads Pedersen winning stage 2 of the Tour of Poland comes from Cor Vos.
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