Primož Roglič’s two stage wins and encouraging GC position in the Giro d’Italia 2019 are clearly not enough for Jumbo-Visma, as the Dutch team dominated the Four Days of Dunkirk 2019, winning five out of the six stages and taking the leader’s jersey every day.
Mike Teunissen took the overall classification after winning the final two stages, as well as picking up a podium place on stage four, which saw him take the lead off team-mate Dylan Groenewegen.
It was a positive week for the Dutch sprinter, though, with Groenewegen winning the first three stages, until he lost time on stage four, ruling him out of any GC aspirations.
The race was not without controversy, however, as Frenchman Clément Venturini (Ag2r La Mondiale) was relegated twice over the six stages for an “irregular sprint” in the final.
Teunissen won the final stage six to cement his overall classification victory, beating Groenewegen who finished second and Timothy Dupont (Wanty-Gobert) in third.
Another Jumbo-Visma rider, Amund Grøndahl Jansen finished second on GC, 24 seconds back from the Dutchman Teunissen, with Belgian Jens Keukeleire (Lotto-Soudal) rounding out the podium in third place.
How it happened
The Four Days of Dunkirk took place over six stages, starting and ending in the northern French coastal town and covering 1,000km in between.
Dylan Gronewegen (Jumbo-Visma) took a trio of stage wins, beating out Marc Sarreau (Groupama-FDJ) and team-mate Mike Teunissen on the opening stage, before winning the second stage by race jury decision after Clement Venturini (Ag2r La Mondiale) was relegated for an “irregular sprint”.
Whilst Groenewegen was making a habit of taking consecutive stage victories, the Frenchman Venturini was relegated once again for an irregular sprint, this time impeding the Belgian Roy Jans (Corendon-Circus) in the rush to the line. Groenewegen therefore took the stage win once again, with Sarreau second and Christopher Laporte (Cofidis) third.
Bryan Coquard (Vital Concept-B&B Hotels) ended the Jumbo-Visma stage victory streak, winning from Clement Venturini who finally registered a legitimate effort, coming second. Groenewegen finished in a group 47 seconds down, which was not enough to hold onto his 15 second lead in the overall.
It was not all doom and gloom for Jumbo-Visma, however, as Mike Teunissen took third place on the stage, which was enough to give him the overall lead, four seconds ahead of Jens Keukeleire (Lotto-Soudal).
Teunissen then stamped his authority on the race, with victory on the lumpy parcours of stage five. Clement Venturini was once again the nearly man, finishing second, with Amund Grøndahl Jansen coming third. The Norwegian therefore moved up to second on GC, trailing Teunissen by 14 seconds, to make it a Jumbo-Visma one-two heading into the final sixth stage.
The two Dutchman who had dominated the first five days of the race rounded the stage race off with another Jumbo-Visma one-two after Teunissen took the win and Groenewegen finished second, with Timothy Dupont (Wanty-Gobert) third.
Teunissen won the overall classification, with his team-mate Jansen second on GC and Jens Keukeleire third.
Results
Four Days of Dunkirk – overall classification
1. Mike Teunissen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma, in 25-37,41
2. Amund Grøndahl Jansen (Nor) Jumbo-Visma, at 24 seconds
3. Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Lotto-Soudal, at 32s
4. Anthony Turgis (Fra) Total Direct Energie, at 36s
5. Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Israel Cycling Academy, at 39s
6. Aimé De Gendt (Bel) Wanty-Gobert, at 42s
7. Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Arkéa Samsic, at 45s
8. Dimitri Claeys (Bel) Cofidis, at same time
9. Julien Antomarchi (Fra) Natura4Ever – Roubaix Lille Métropole, at 54s
10. Frederik Backaert (Bel) Wanty-Gobert, at 1-02
