The stage was completed at a high pace. Shortly after the start was given, a large group including Koen Bouwman, Jonas Vingegaard and our trainee Stef Krul escaped. Everything came together before the halfway point of the race, after which Remco Evenepoel chose to attack. He was caught in the last ten kilometres by a much-reduced peloton that started sprinting for the victory.

"From kilometre zero it was full gas," sports director Merijn Zeeman said. “We had three boys in the large group that got away in the beginning, but the peloton did not let it go. The course exploded both at the front and at the back. That, in combination with the rolling parcours and the warm weather, made it a super tough race."

"The boys supported each other well in the final," Zeeman continues. “Timo and Jonas remained in the select group. Timo was just positioned well in the sprint, otherwise a lesser classification would have been possible. All in all we can look back on a good day for our team."