'Once it's back in, it's okay again' — Groenewegen on his shoulder and the sprint chance in Sofia

The damage from stage 1 had proved more significant than initially suggested, Dylan Groenewegen revealed to the press — including IDL Pro Cycling — ahead of the start of stage 2. The Unibet Rose Rockets sprinter was already looking forward to the next chance in Sofia.

Groenewegen came down in the final kilometre at Burgas, where stage 1 finished. The crash sent a wave of shock through everyone — both at the finish line among the Rockets staff, and back home in the Netherlands. His wife Nine and their little boy Mayson experienced it from the sofa, as Nine showed in the video below on Instagram.

"There was very little chance of stopping in time," he reflected. "It got narrower because we went from a two-lane road to a one-lane road. That creates a bit of a funnel — but it is what it is. Crashes happen on wider roads too, and it's the first day of a Grand Tour, which always makes things extra nervous."

Fortunately the damage turned out to be relatively manageable for everyone involved — though Groenewegen's initial reaction was far from positive. "It hurt mainly in the shoulder, which came out of the socket a bit. It's back in now, but it will be fairly stiff over the coming days."

"At first I thought it was my collarbone — that's what it felt like. I was genuinely worried for a moment, but it started to feel better," he said with a sigh of relief. "I thought for a second it was all over, but thankfully it wasn't. I was able to put it back in myself — although it went back in on its own really."

"Everything around it is very stiff, because the shoulder did slip out for a moment," the Amsterdam native continued. "Once it's back in, it's okay again — but the muscles around it have taken a real knock. On the bike it shouldn't cause too many problems." He did admit to some difficult moments on the climbs in stage 2.

The fact remains that Groenewegen — as sprint coach Marcel Kittel also acknowledged — had not been in an ideal position and had lost his teammates before stage 1's finale. "We had a good plan, but a few details could have been done differently in hindsight. We'll take those lessons into next time, to have a bit more space. This time I ended up getting a bit boxed in — hopefully I can avoid that next time."

Sunday brings a new opportunity in the capital Sofia — if Groenewegen can pull fully on his handlebars with that battered shoulder. "I'm hoping we'll have recovered and can take another chance there. I hope it gets better day by day and that Sunday doesn't come too soon," the Rockets' sprint leader concluded.