In the second stage of the Slovakian stage race, the Team Visma | Lease a Bike troops once again made it a tough race. In the run-up to the second climb, the pace was significantly increased, after which Lemmen saw his chance to attack. The 29-year-old Dutchman was joined by Paul Double and the duo soon caught up with the race leaders.

On the climbs that followed, Lemmen and Double distanced themselves from the early breakaway riders. The duo built up a maximum lead of fifty seconds, but Soudal Quick-Step ensured that everything came together. In the final sprint, Paul Magnier once again proved to be the fastest. Behrens sprinted to seventh place. 

"I'm happy I was in a position to race", Lemmen said. "We had a plan and executed it as we wanted. Of course, we had hoped to have a few more riders at the front so we could better compete with Soudal Quick-Step. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, and this was the best we could do."

Lemmen is riding his first race in Slovakia since he broke his shoulder blade at the end of July. He is pleased to be back on the offensive. "I'm happy with this good feeling, especially after the injury I had. Things aren't going badly so far, although we did come here to win a stage. Today wasn't our best chance; we should be able to fight for the win in the last stage in particular."