Teunissen amazes with stage victory and first yellow jersey in Tour de France
Mike Teunissen has taken a surprise win in the first stage of the Tour de France. In Brussels, the Dutchman just kept ahead of Peter Sagan. As a result, he became the first Dutch rider to wear the yellow jersey since Erik Breukink thirty years ago.
Teunissen was supposed to lead-out Dylan Groenewegen but Groenewegen crashed and he seized the opportunity. The Dutch rider was brought into position in the last kilometre by Wout van Aert.
For Teunissen, it is his fifth victory of the season. It is the thirty-sixth victory for Team Jumbo-Visma.
The stage from and to Brussels went according to plan for the formation of manager Richard Plugge. The stage was controlled by George Bennett in particular. In the final two kilometres, the team had to change plans quickly after Dylan’s crash had disrupted the original plan. Groenewegen, however, still finished the stage, suffering some superficial abrasions.
“This is truly bizarre. Unreal”, Teunissen said. “It’s all very special. We worked hard for months to do a sprint with Dylan here. After his crash, we switched plans very quickly. The riders in front of me were struggling to keep their pace and I could only just outsprint Sagan. The fact that I win a stage by beating these guys in the Tour is amazing. This is what you dream of as a little boy. Now it has happened, it has become reality ... I can’t find the words for it.”
Manager Richard Plugge concurred with Teunissen. “For the first time in history we have the yellow jersey in the team and it’s the first Dutch yellow jersey in thirty years: that is really fantastic. It is an incredible season for us.”