After more than seventy kilometres of racing, the decision was made when a leading group of thirty-three riders broke clear, containing Team Jumbo-Visma’s Danny van Poppel, Floris De Tier, Pascal Eenkhoorn and Amund Jansen. Jansen displayed his excellent form by chasing down a late attack from Steven Cummings in the final kilometres, to achieve a sprint.

“If you are that close, this is a bit of a pity”, Van Poppel said. “On the other hand, I have to be happy with this and take confidence out of it. The team was super strong today and I felt good. We knew it was going to be a strange stage because there would be little control as there are just a few WorldTour teams present. The pace was high and we ended up in the front group with four people. In the final, Floris, Amund and Pascal in particular tried to attack. After the last climb, we decided to play my card for the sprint. I have to compliment the boys, because without them it wouldn’t have resulted in a sprint here. All in all I am happy with the way things are going and with the faith the team have in me. I am already looking forward to tomorrow.”