Dumoulin started his race against the clock in a promising way. At the first intermediate point the former Giro winner clocked the fastest time. Although Dumoulin struggled in the final part, he was the first rider to finish in under twelve minutes (11:55).

Dumoulin couldn’t enjoy the hot seat for long, however, as Simon Yates was five seconds faster. The pink jersey also proved faster than Dumoulin, who ultimately had to settle for third place. "I gave everything today, but unfortunately I didn’t have good legs", Dumoulin said.

"It was a good time trial, but it was not one I had hoped for. On a course like this, you have to develop as much speed as possible and hope you have enough left for the climb. Unfortunately that didn’t work out because on the climb I felt I was blowing myself up."

Dumoulin had mixed feelings about his third place. "I came here for the win, so it’s disappointing that I didn’t manage. On the other hand, I felt good and strong. That’s something I can build on."

Tobias Foss finished his time trial in sixth place. The young Norwegian conceded seventeen seconds to stage winner Yates and moved up to seventh place in the standings. "I’m thrilled with my performance. It was a technical course which usually suits me. I felt very comfortable on the bike and that's the most important feeling to have."

Overall, Team Jumbo-Visma did well. The formation of sports directors Marc Reef, Addy Engels and Jan Boven won the day’s team classification.