Dylan Groenewegen of Jumbo-Visma won a mass bunch sprint to take the first stage of the Tour of Valencia on Wednesday. Dutchman Groenewegen is a previous winner of five Tour de France stages and is often compared in style to British great Mark Cavendish for the kind of late burst that clinched the opening stage. Groenewegen just about edged his compatriot, the Dutch national champion Fabio Jakobsen of Deceuninck-Quick Step, at the line after posting a time of four hours, seven minutes and 40 seconds, while Norway's Alexander Kristoff of UAE Emirates team was third. This was the first of three potential sprint stages on the five-day Tour, for which 40-year-old Spaniard Alejandro Valverde is touted as favourite, with two punchy finishes and no time-trial on the tour. Thursday's stage is a 181km run from Torrent to Cullera with two hills on the agenda. gr/dmc/td