The second stage was characterised by four steep hills in the final. After the last breakaway rider was caught at 30 kilometres from the finish, the race ended on a hill with percentages of up to 15 percent. The peloton broke up in the last kilometre and a half. Eenkhoorn and Bennett were just not able to keep up with the best.

Sports director Arthur van Dongen was optimistic afterwards. “We had planned to race with George, Pascal and Antwan in the hill section. The other guys did a good job of putting them in front. Antwan tried to attack on the steep climb of the second category but unfortunately his legs were not good enough. This meant we were left with George and Pascal heading for the final climb. They finished in the place where they belong at this moment. Pascal managed to finish 20th on this long and steep final climb. George has not raced for a long time, but he is getting better every day. Tomorrow there might be another bunch sprint and then Olav Kooij can go for his chance. Olav crashed badly in the Heistse Pijl and was quite badly injured for a while, but he is also getting better every day.”