STRONG TOUR DE FRANCE BY TEAM JAYCO ALULA FROM START TO FINISH

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2023

Team Jayco AlUla wrapped up its 2023 Tour de France with its fifth podium finish during the three-week grand tour as Dylan Groenewegen sprinted to third place on the final stage into Paris.

Groenewegen was part of a strong effort by the team, which was consistently at the front of the action from the start in Bilbao, Spain, to the finish in Paris. From the mountains to the sprints, the eight-man squad helped animate the year’s biggest stage race. They achieved three close second-place finishes and helped deliver team leader Simon Yates to an impressive fourth place overall in the general classification.

For Groenewegen, the podium finish on the Champs-Élysées in Paris marked his fourth top-five result at this year’s Tour. He was also second on Stage 11, fourth on Stage 8 and fifth on Stage 7. All Groenewegen’s top finishes came aboard his Propel Advanced SL team bike with a CADEX WheelSystem.

“The Champs-Élysées is always beautiful and it’s even more beautiful when you win, so when you come so close it’s a bit disappointing,” said the 30-year-old Dutch rider, who wore his Giant Pursuit helmet for the sprint stages. “In the end it was not the victory we came for, but we had a really nice Tour. I think the results say something. We were really close, in the end we just missed a victory. But that’s also sprinting, that’s also racing.”

Overall, the team had 10 top-five stage finishes and 17 top-10 finishes, a consistency that team general manager Brent Copeland said shows the team’s effort and determination.

“I think the effort the boys put in for the whole three weeks, that was impressive,” Copeland said. “I think it shows the spirit of this team and shows what culture we have and that makes us proud.”

Top-5 GC for Yates

Yates put in a gutsy performance to finish fourth overall, his best GC finish ever at the Tour. He started his campaign off strong with a close second place finish to his twin brother Adam Yates on the opening stage in Spain. The British climber had to overcome a crash later in the first week that cost him some time, but he fought the rest of the way to keep climbing up the leader board.

“I think we can be proud of ourselves,” said Yates. “We really went after a lot of stages this year and personally for myself, fourth overall, I’m quite pleased with that.”

Yates rode his Propel Advanced SL with a CADEX WheelSystem, and he wore his his Giant Surge Pro shoes and Rev Pro helmet for the key mountain stages.

“This is the first grand tour in a while that I’ve not had any injuries or sickness or bad luck, so I’m very happy.” Yate said. “It’s been a tough period like that to deal with, but finally I’ve managed to come through it and had a ‘normal’ grand tour and I’m very happy.”

Here's a look at Team Jayco-AlUla’s highlights at the 2023 Tour de France:

Top-5 finishes
Stage 1: 2nd place - Simon Yates
Stage 17: 2nd place – Simon Yates
Stage 11: 2nd place – Dylan Groenewegen
Stage 8: 4th place – Dylan Groenewegen
Stage 15: 4th place – Lawson Craddock
Stage 7: 5th place – Dylan Groenewegen
Stage 16: 5th place – Simon Yates
Stage 17: 2nd place – Simon Yates 
Stage 20: 4th place – Simon Yates 
Stage 21: 3rd place – Dylan Groenewegen

Top-10 placings
Stage 3: 8th place – Dylan Groenewegen
Stage 4: 8th place – Luka Mezgec
Stage 6: 8th place – Simon Yates
Stage 14: 9th place – Simon Yates
Stage 13: 9th place – Simon Yates
Stage 17: 7th place – Chris Harper
Stage 19: 7th place – Luka Mezgec

Source:

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/global/news/strong-tour-de-france-by-team-jayco-alula-from-start-to-finish/27926