The Dutch stage race kicked off with a 10-kilometre time trial in the streets of Gennep. Nooijen entered the flat course as one of the first and immediately set the standard high. With a time of 12 minutes and 47 seconds, she could hope for the stage win for a long time. Zoe Bäckstedt rode her time trial seven seconds faster than Nooijen, who had to settle for second place.

"A time trial on the first day is always a bit tense, but I'm super happy with how it went. Seven seconds is of course a big gap on a 10-kilometre distance. The legs have spoken and Zoe is the deserved winner. I gave everything and am happy with second place", Nooijen said.

The youngster, who is having a strong season, is looking forward to the rest of the week. "Tomorrow, the start of the stage is in my hometown of Coevorden. I'm really looking forward to that. The Simac Ladies Tour has long stages and I expect the wind will definitely play a role. We came here with three good classification riders, so we'll see how it goes."

Henderson and Markus also occupied a spot in the top ten of the general classification after the time trial. "It was a decent time trial. Not special, but not bad either", the British rider said. "I think I need some more kilometres to get back in shape. Anyway, we experienced a good start as a team. I'm looking forward to the rest of the week."