Steven Kruijswijk maintained himself in the front of the peloton and finished sixteenth. He retained his sixth place overall with one stage to go.

“Today it was mainly about surviving and making sure you don’t lose any time”, Kruijswijk said. “The stage finished, as expected, in a bunch sprint. The final of today’s stage was very technical and hectic. So it was a matter of paying attention and maintaining your position in the front. That worked out well. Tomorrow there will be a tough stage on the Montjuic. With the current differences in the overall standings, I expect the necessary attacks. I feel good, so we will see what is still possible.”

Floris De Tier put himself in the spotlight and was in the attack for more than one hundred and twenty kilometres. “Because there are not many sprinters left, it is difficult to control the race. Because of this, today there was a chance for a breakaway to stay ahead. I eventually managed to be in that breakaway, but I soon realised that we were not going to get much space from the peloton. But if you don’t try, you never know. It’s a pity it didn’t work out, but that is cycling. I am happy with my shape and that gives confidence for the coming races.”