Aussie Groves crashes but maintains lead after penultimate Tour of Hongrie stage

Young Australian Kaden Groves (Mitchelton-Scott) has held onto the lead after the penultimate stage of the Tour de Hongrie on Wednesday (AEST), but was denied a sprinting chance after crashing in the final kilometre.

Source: Mitchelton-Scott

Fortunately for the 21-year-old, he wasn't injured and maintains the overall race lead.

Groves was given the same time as the peloton as per the UCI rules of the crash occurring within the final three kilometres.

Mitchelton-Scott controlled the peloton for the majority of the stage, which led Groves into position for the final dash before his unfortunate crash.

“It was a really good team effort today, the guys did a massive job keeping me fresh all day so it was a huge disappointment to crash so close to the line," Groves said.

"All in all, keeping the yellow jersey into tomorrow’s final stage is one positive to look at.

“In the crash there was just a touch of wheels in front of me. I had nowhere to go and came down with four or five others.

“The team were really great today - Barnabas Peak was pulling all day and the others tried to make the climbs hard to drop some rival sprinters.

“It is really nice to see the team believe in me, disappointing to crash but I think I can take some confidence out of today and that the form is good. It has given me confidence for the races to come and I am sure we can get a win soon."

Meanwhile, the general classification are predicted to shake up on the final stage on Thursday (AEST), which culminates with a hard uphill climb.