Five riders formed the day’s leading group and got a maximum lead of five and a half minutes. They were caught before the last two climbs. During the approach of these climbs, the peloton’s speed increased significantly. Oomen and Vader held out with the strongest riders for a long time but had to give in during an attack on the final climb. Oomen eventually lost one and a half minutes to winner Remco Evenepoel.

For Marc Reef, it was his first day in the Team Jumbo-Visma team car. “We knew it would be a tough day. It was the first race after a long winter preparation. It’s always a matter of seeing where we stand. We had a few scenarios in mind. The first was to see how far the guys, including our sprinter David Dekker, would get during this race. We also wanted to support our climbers. If the peloton would fall apart, they could ride their own final. I think that went well. They started the last climb in a good position. They gave everything until the end. All in all, it was a good first test; we got through the stage well.”

“In tomorrow’s stage we hope to be able to sprint with David”, Reef continued. “Our big goal is to take a stage win in the sprints. Tomorrow will be a tough day, but hopefully we will get our first chance.”