Jensen Plowright thought he had beaten Wout van Aert before photo-finish reversal: ‘I can retire now’

What an extraordinary sprint we witnessed at the Tour of Denmark! Wout van Aert appeared to be battling Toon Aerts for the victory for a long time, but the two Belgians were surprised by the fast-finishing Jensen Plowright. The Australian from Alpecin-Premier Tech thought he had won by the narrowest possible margin and was even more delighted because of the quality of the riders he believed he had beaten. That made the disappointment all the greater when the race jury later changed its decision.

Unibet Rose Rockets produced the strongest lead-out, but Van Aert accelerated out of the wheel in front of him. Aerts drew level but could not move past, while Plowright then had to weave his way through the bunch. The Australian squeezed through a tiny gap beside the overall race leader and initially appeared to throw his wheel across the line slightly earlier. That was also the jury’s first verdict, but the decision was later reversed.

After another review of the photo finish, Van Aert was ultimately declared the stage winner. Plowright had believed he had secured his first professional victory and therefore spoke enthusiastically to the media immediately after the finish. “It was absolutely crazy and an incredibly fast day,” he said in the flash interview. “It was a really nice finishing circuit, but the descent was very hectic. I had a great run towards the finish over the final few hundred metres.”

For the Australian, it would have been particularly special to claim his first professional victory by defeating a rider of Van Aert’s stature. Plowright has been knocking on the door for some time. “It feels as though this has been coming for quite a while. But to beat Wout van Aert... that is really cool. I think I’ll put a photo of it on my wall. I think I can retire now,” the fast finisher joked before learning that the result had been changed.

Alpecin-Premier Tech arrived in Denmark with the ambition of winning stages and securing a strong overall result with Tibor Del Grosso. “It will be really good for the confidence within the team. We can enjoy this, and I think we still have a great week ahead of us,” Plowright concluded. Following the revised result, however, the team’s search for a stage victory must begin all over again.