On the same course where the men will be racing this afternoon, the women of Team Jumbo-Visma rode their first time trial of the season. Kimberly Cadzow, among others, proved to be a good time trialist. After exactly 25.7 kilometres, the rider from New Zealand clocked the twentieth fastest time.

Kraak also showed that a race against the clock suits her. The Dutch rider got off to a good start and was fastest at the first checkpoint. Although she lost some time in the second section, she finished in 38 minutes and 9 seconds. This meant that only four riders had been faster than her.

"I am happy with that. My goal was to be in the top ten, so to be in the top five is good. Especially in this field”, Kraak said with a smile. "After last year, I already had the feeling that this discipline suits me. I trained more this year with a view to the team time trial in the Vuelta. And it paid off."

According to Kraak, exploring the course in advance was an excellent move. "I did two laps on Friday, so I knew what to expect. It was downhill at the beginning, but then there were several climbs. I knew I had to save some energy for the end. Luckily Lieselot (Decroix) did a great job pulling me through from the follow car."

Kraak moved up from sixteenth to fifth in the standings. According to the former rower, holding on to fifth place is not an objective. "I hope we continue to race aggressively for a win. If we get a chance, we have to take it."