“The stage went according to plan, which was to get Neilson in the best possible position for the final climb”, sports director Grischa Niermann said. “We assisted him as well as possible and on the climb it was up to him. He eventually had to let go of the leading group and finished the stage at his own pace. In the context of his development as a rider he has a free role this week. Tomorrow, he will go for it again and then we’ll see what it’ll lead to on Sunday GC-wise. The other guys, and especially Dylan and Timo, completed the stage without problems after their crash yesterday. So that’s good with regard to Saturday’s sprint stage.”