Today’s stage wasn’t too hectic. One brave attacker got a maximum lead of seven minutes, but was caught before the last fifty kilometres mark. A reduced peloton then sprinted for the stage win. Team Jumbo-Visma kept Roglic in front all day and stayed out of trouble in the treacherous final kilometres.

“It was a fairly easy stage today”, overall leader Roglic explained. “There was only one attacker, so that was an easy situation to control. There was a very strong wind, so we had to pay attention all the time as there was a possibility of echelons. We are a Dutch team, so we know how to deal with the wind. The final is always stressful, but the team protected me very well and kept me in the front all day. We survived the day unscathed.”

Sports director Addy Engels concurred with his captain. “There were talks beforehand about possible echelons due to the strong wind. In the end that did not happen, but we had to be ready for the battle and try to eliminate as many risks as possible. There were a few dangerous moments, but nothing really happened. We were ready for a fight and we got through the day perfectly.”