With Brennan in the green points jersey, the peloton prepared for a difficult stage in Sauerland. Five riders broke away early on, but thanks to Steven Kruijswijk's hard work, they had no illusions about winning the stage. After the breakaway riders were caught, Wout van Aert showed his attentiveness in the bonus sprint. He took three seconds and thus took the virtual lead.

Immediately after the bonus sprint, the race exploded. Brennan was part of a strong group that took a small lead over the peloton. Narváez, Soren Waerenskjold and Riley Sheehan took advantage of a struggling cooperation and rode to the finish together. Narvaéz beat his breakaway companions. In the chasing group, Brennan sprinted to eighth place. He is now seventh in the general classification, three places behind Van Aert.

"Everything went perfectly until after the bonification sprint", sports director Robert Wagner reflects on the day. "Steven controlled the race all day, which meant that the breakaway riders were caught in time. We had said beforehand that if the bonus sprint was for the peloton, Wout would get involved. He did just that. He was then in a good group, but didn't have the legs yet to stay at the front."

"Matthew was alone in the front group and had to take a bit of a gamble. In the end, three riders broke away." According to Wagner, Brennan has once again shown that he is in good shape. "When you see how strong he is on those climbs, you know he's feeling good. Unfortunately, we didn't get the result we were hoping for today, but we're still very close in the standings. Tomorrow we'll make a new plan."