• 2023-05-07
• Tour de Hongrie

15 riders to watch out for at the Tour de Hongrie - Part II

In our latest series of articles, we've rounded up the riders who could deliver the biggest thrills and most extraordinary moments of the 44th Tour de Hongrie. In the second part we focus on the best sprinters in the peloton.

Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal Quick-Step)

Defending Tour de Hongrie points classification winner Fabio Jakobsen has had a turbulent few years. In 2020, he suffered a huge crash on the first stage of Tour de Pologne when he was pinned to the bars by compatriot Dylan Groenewegen. Jakobsen was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries, where he was placed in an artificial coma and underwent a series of operations. But Jakobsen not only recovered, he was back in the field in April 2021. Just over a year after his crash, he was in his best form again: one of the most successful sprinters of our time won three stages at Vuelta and claimed the green jersey.

Tour de Hongrie 2022 was a special occasion for Jakobsen and Groenewegen to meet for the first time since their accident as featured sprinters. Overall, the former emerged better from the battle: he won the second stage in Hajduszoboszló and the third in Nyíregyháza, and finally took the green jersey. He carried his good form into the later stages of the year, winning the second stage of the Tour de France and then taking the European Championship title. So far in 2023, he has two victories (a sprint win in Vuelta San Juan and one in Tirreno-Adriatico), but his team is giving him the chance to increase that record. Yves Lampaert and Tim Declercq are among the strongest in the world on the flat, and Casper Andersen and Michael Morkov could give him the perfect leadout.

Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco AlUla)

The other person involved in the aforementioned 2020 crash will also return to Tour de Hongrie. Last year's race did not start well: Bad positioning in Székesfehérvár and Nyíregyháza, a crash in Hajdúszoboszló prevented him from achieving a good result, but in Kazincbarcika he turned his luck around. Although the leadout was dominated by Quick-Step, Groenewegen easily overtook Jakobsen to win the stage. Just like his compatriot, he successfully carried his form over to Tour de France, winning stage 3 of the race and finishing 2nd in Paris.

Groenewegen already has five stage victories from four different Tour de Frances, and he would like to add to that tally in 2023. His preparation so far has been encouraging, with stage wins in Saudi Arabia and the UAE Tour. Jayco has built a full squad around him: his final lead-out man will be Slovenian Giro stage-winning star Luka Mezgec, and his train could include top riders such as track cycling icon Kelland O'Brien and the tellingly named Blake Quick.

(forrás: Lotto Dstny)

Caleb Ewan (Lotto Dstny)

The most successful cyclist ever to race the Tour de Hongrie - in terms of stage wins in three weeks. Nicknamed the "Pocket Rocket", the Australian sprinter has finished on the top step of the podium five times in the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, and once in the Vuelta a España. Ewan moved to Lotto in 2019 from Mitchelton-Scott (now Jayco AlUla), where he has clearly become the biggest star of the squad.

Ewan, who sprints in a unique style, almost lying on the handlebars, is making his second visit to Hungary: in last year's Giro d'Italia, he was fighting for victory on the opening day in Visegrad before crashing out. He can count on three helpers in Lotto's line-up: the experienced Jacopo Guarnieri was formerly the lead-out man for Arnaud Démare, Belgian Jasper de Buyst has been a dominant in the role for three years and Jarrad Drizners could also prove to be a useful helper in the earlier stages of the race.

(Photo: Thomas Bressons/Wikimedia Commons)

Sam Bennett (BORA – hansgrohe)

Picking the strongest sprinter in the peloton is difficult, but finding the strongest train is slightly easier. Ireland's Sam Bennett is led by one of the bests in the genre, Vuelta stage winner Danny van Poppel, and Olympic track cycling champion and Gran Piemonte winner Matthew Walls. Not to mention Shane Archbold, a last-minute addition to the squad, and Irish's superb pacer Ryan Mullen.

Of course, a strong train alone is no guarantee for success (especially in a field of this calibre), but Bennett has done his best to be named among the best sprinters in the world. He won the Tour de France points classification in 2020 - and secured the green jersey with a stage win on the Champs Elysées. He has five stage wins from the Vuelta, two from the Giro and two from the Tour de France, but he has also won one-day races such as Eschborn-Frankfurt and Brugge-de Panne.

Phil Bauhaus (Team Bahrain Victorious)

Among the sprinter stars in the field will be Elia Viviani, winner of five Giro d'Italia stages, former European champion Matteo Trentin, two Colombian sprinter stars recovering from injury, Álvaro José Hodeg and Juan Sebastian Molano, 2020 Tour de Hongrie green jersey winner Jakub Mareczko, Casper van Uden, considered one of the Netherlands' top talents, Sasha Weemaes, who won two podiums last year, and former stage winner Matteo Moschetti. But two-time stage winner and green jersey winner of Tour de Hongrie 2021, Phil Bauhaus, is in terrific form: he finished Tirreno-Adriatico in the top of the points classification among sprinters, and started the year with a sprint victory in Australia at Tour Down Under.

The German, known for his aggressive positioning, could benefit from the experience of the 2021 race, but there are many exciting questions about his train. For Bahrain, Tour de Hongrie is an optimal testing ground, and two young rookies have been given the honour of leading the way: Australian Cameron Scott and Slovenian Matevz Govekar. If the plan goes well, Bauhaus could be in the race for stage wins.