“This was the moment to attack and it worked, which is really cool”, Markus said about the moment she escaped from the peloton. “Carmen (Small, race coach) told me to not look back and keep accelerating until the finish line. I knew the chasing gap was about fifteen seconds. That’s not a lot, but I didn’t look back and hoped I could make it.”

Team Jumbo-Visma showed itself in the front all day and had high expectations for this stage. “We were really looking forward to it. The previous stages were all sprints and it is difficult to beat Lorena (Wiebes). It meant we had to come up with something and that’s why Anna (Henderson) went on the attack early today. She was virtually first in the general classification for a long time. Only ten kilometres from the finish, she was taken back. When that happened, I knew it was time for me to attack”, a delighted Markus said.

Tomorrow there is an eighteen-kilometre time trial on the programme. Markus, who recently finished third in the European Time Trial Championship, gained time on her competitors today and hoped to do so again tomorrow. “I am really looking forward to it. I am in good shape and this course suits me perfectly.”

“And we have several options. We are high in the standings with four riders. Both Karlijn (Swinkels) and Anna (Henderson) are capable of a good time trial. We are in a solid position for the last two days.”