On the hilly course around Maldon, several soloists saw their chance to go on the attack. The first breakaway rider was caught with 50 kilometres to go, the second with 35 kilometres to go. On the second climb, North Hill, Anna Henderson accelerated several times but was caught by her rivals.

Henderson's accelerations kept a small group at the front. In the final kilometres, the Jumbo-Visma riders narrowly avoided a crash, and Henderson was well positioned on the climb's last metres. The British rider appeared to be sprinting for third place, but Paladin pushed her wheel over the line a little earlier.

"Anna rode a good sprint. Unfortunately, she missed out on a podium place", race coach Lieselot Decroix said. "Again, our goal was to make the course difficult. We wanted to use the narrow roads and climbs to attack, and we did that well."

The fact that Team Jumbo-Visma had four riders in the final pleased Decroix. "It's good for morale that the four of us were there. It shows that they are focused and doing well in the race." According to Decroix, the third and final stage will be a sprinters' race. "If Teuntje doesn't lose time, she will keep her eighth place. But we will have to see what happens tomorrow."