Dylan Groenewegen may not have been able to match the pace of Alpecin Deceuninck's Yasper Philipsen on the Champs-Elysees, but second place on the final stage of the 2022 Tour de France was not enough to lower the mood at BikeExchange-Jayco It wasn't.

Groenewegen had already won the third stage, his first win at the World Tour level since being suspended for nine months for causing Fabio Jacobsen's crash at the Tour de Pollogne. These two important victories and his appreciation for his progress eased the frustration of missing his last chance.

"The team was really great today. We were a little too fast in the sprint, but I don't think we had a choice," Groenewegen said.

"But the team was really strong.

"I signed with this team seven months ago and now I have one of the best leadouts. I'm really, really grateful for this big opportunity," said the rider, who moved from Jumbo Visma to BikeExchange-Jayco this season.

As a result of stage 21, BikeExchange-Jayco took four second places in addition to two wins. Groenewegen was first, Matthews was second on stages 6 and 8, and Nick Schulz came up short in his Tour debut, losing in a two-man sprint contest in Megeve.

Asked why he was not upset about missing out on a second win in the finale on the Champs Elysees, Groenewegen replied: "It was a really great Tour for the team, two stage wins, we came here to take one stage win. It was a great Tour and the team was very motivated.

Prior to Groenewegen's stage 3 win (his fifth Tour de France win, but first since 2019), the Australian-based team had not even grabbed the top step of the Tour de France since 2019. Last year, when expectations were high after re-signing Matthews, the team finished second and third, but not the expected first, and the wait for a win may have echoed more strongly in this year's results.

"It was a great tour. I've never seen any team I've been involved with work so well," said team owner Jerry Ryan. The bond from day one to now is something special." [Two stage wins, four second places, and next year we will come back even stronger. I'm very excited about the future."