Five riders broke away after the start and got a four-minute lead. The pace went up in the run-up to the hilly final and the two remaining riders were caught with thirty kilometres to go. In the descent towards the climb of the Massonnens there was a big crash. Steven Kruijswijk was involved and lost valuable time for the general classification. Dennis then chose to attack on the steep finish and initially rode alone. However, in the last hundred metres, the Australian fell silent and Teuns crossed the line first.

"I gave everything, but I was empty in the last hundred metres", the new classification leader said. "Initially, I followed Brandon McNulty's tempo acceleration. Even though it hurt, I felt I could go faster. I hoped to create a gap and ensure I was at least on the podium. A few metres less and I would have won, but I am happy with the result. The team did a great job today."

Merijn Zeeman had mixed feelings about the first stage. "In the first instance, it's a bummer that Rohan was beaten on the line. On the other hand, this was his plan and it's clever that this daring action succeeded. He was very strong, but one rider was just a bit better. Unfortunately, Steven was involved in the crash. He had to make a big effort to get back in the first group, so he had already given everything at this final climb."