Groenewegen, who returned to the front of the peloton after a crash with 10 kilometres to go, narrowly won the 182-kilometre stage from Vejle to Sønderborg ahead of Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), who retains the yellow jersey, and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
The chaotic final metres were described as “hectic” by Australian sprint stars Matthews and Caleb Ewan (Lotta Soudal).
“I think everyone thought they had Superman legs in the final there,” said Matthews after a relatively easy day on the road, “So everyone was taking every bit of risk.”
Despite the high-stakes of the second sprint finish of the Tour so far, Matthews was full of praise for Groenewegen’s composure as the finish line drew near.
“He road so relaxed, so calm after yesterday.
“We backed ourselves to do a really good leadout for Dylan today. We didn’t do the perfect leadout, but we delivered him in the best position we could and he finished it off for us.”
Asked what he said to Groenewegen after he delivered the team the win, Matthews replied:
“We just said, 'Mate, you did it!' It’s all you need to say really. We believed in him yesterday. We believed in him again today. And he delivered it for us.”
The result meant as much to Matthews as a victory of his own, especially with so many more opportunities for the team to shine as the race makes its way toward Paris.
“I’ve never really been a part of strong leadouts like this in the Tour de France before. To be a part of a win like this it feels like it’s my own as much as it’s his.
“I think it gives us all confidence, the whole team. You can just see what it means to us. It’s not just another win. It’s a win at the biggest race of the year. It just shows that we’re all in really good shape to continue this and hopefully we can.”
After the rest day today, tune in for Stage 4 on Tuesday evening from 9.05 pm AEST on the SBS ŠKODA Tour Tracker, with SBS television and SBS On Demand coverage starting at 9.30 pm AEST.
