In hot conditions, three riders made an early break. The leading group built a gap of over two minutes, but the last remaining escapee was caught by the peloton with just one kilometre to go.

In the closing kilometres, the Dutch squad stayed alert at the front. Brennan was well-positioned by his new lead-out Filippo Fiorelli, but he went solo slightly too early, preventing him from fully executing his sprint. In the end, Sam Welsford proved to be the fastest.

“Matthew went solo at the front too early,” admitted team director Jesper Mørkøv. “Tim Rex did a tremendous job throughout the stage by leading the chase. When the last breakaway rider was caught, we tried to position Matthew as best as possible, but unfortunately he was alone too soon, and other teams were able to overtake him with more speed.”

The Dutch team now turns its focus to the final weekend, which starts with a challenging stage tomorrow. “It’s going to be a very tough day, especially with the high temperatures. We’ll do our best to support Anton Schiffer as a team. He deserves it after what he’s shown this week.”