On the hilly roads around Gera, the yellow-black formation showed itself well in front. In autumnal conditions, wind and rain played a role all day long, and it rained attacks from the peloton. However, the day’s win did not go to an escapee. Lorena Wiebes sprinted to victory in the twisty final kilometre.

“The peloton was a bit slower than yesterday”, said sports director Lieselot Decroix afterwards. “Jip van den Bos and Aafke Soet did a great job keeping the other three girls in front and protecting them well. The pace wasn’t very high on the climbs, even though there was a possibility of a split there. We chose Anna in the hectic final while keeping in mind that it would be difficult to win a flat sprint. Unfortunately she was just too far out in the last few corners, but we worked well together as a team today.”

Tomorrow will be another tough stage with the necessary altitude metres. Decroix is already looking forward to it. “We didn’t have to waste too much energy today. On top of that, it’s also an uphill finish, so that might offer some perspectives.”