After ten kilometres of racing, the escape of the day already took shape. Eight riders gained a maximum lead of three minutes. Despite several accelerations from the peloton, the group at the front kept their advantage. Colin Joyce was the first to cross the finish line.

With about sixty kilometres to go there was some turmoil in the peloton. A crash caused the necessary commotion. Teunissen and Timo Roosen also hit the asphalt. Luckily both riders were able to continue their way.

Roosen was one of the riders from the black and yellow formation who took the lead in the hunt for the breakaway riders. “Despite the fact that the riders in the peloton cooperated, the local laps brought a lot of chaos. Everyone tried to be in the front and that went hand in hand with the necessary skirmishes. In the end, this did not help the pace on the technical course. In the final, the wind also played an important role. We were well-positioned as a team, but we lost each other a bit in the frenzy. When a couple of guys from the GC attacked, I was directly on their wheel. The goal was to sprint with Dylan. Unfortunately we didn’t manage to catch the breakaway riders, despite frantic efforts in the last five kilometres.”

Roosen breathed a sigh of relief after the crash. “On one of the narrow lanes I went down. Some other riders in the peloton crashed and I couldn’t avoid them. I made a move that allowed me to roll into the adjacent pasture. I immediately felt something in my ribs and knee. Fortunately that didn’t bother me too much and I was able to make a contribution afterwards”, the Dutch national champion said.

A vigorous Teunissen was happy that he was fine after the crash. “It was a nervous day. Fortunately, nothing is wrong with me. I’m still fifth in the general classification, reason enough to do my utmost in the final time trial tomorrow.”