Groenewegen takes first win since ban for infamous sprint crash | Video | Sticky Bottle

*Dylan Groenewegen has had a mixed return to racing after his nine month ban but he's gotten the show back on the road today at Tour de Wallonie*

Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo Visma) has taken his first win after his ban from racing for causing a serious crash at Tour de Pologne last year.

The Dutch rider claimed victory today in the bunch sprint that marked the finish of stage 1 at Tour de Wallonie.

In the gallop to the line in Héron, after 185.7km of racing, Groenewegen took the victory, and the first leader's jersey of the race, from Hugo Hofstetter (Israel Start-Up Nation) and Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin-Fenix).

Groenewegen was suspended from competition for nine months over his actions in causing the crash at last year’s Tour de Pologne that so seriously injured Fabio Jakobsen.

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Groenewegen moved to his right in the downhill sprint to close the door on Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep), who crashed into the barriers. And because the barriers were so poor, he crashed through them and into the scaffolding holding the finish line gantry in place.

There were initially fears for Jakobsen’s life, and then for his future in the sport. However, while he required multiple surgeries and new dental work, he has returned to racing, but is still trying to get used to the peloton and recapture the form almost 12 months after his crash.

Groenewegen returned to racing at the Giro in May but abandoned the race after 13 stages. His best result before today was 4th on the final stage at Baloise Belgium Tour last month.