A breakaway was formed quite quickly on the cobbled roads at the beginning of the race. The three riders got a maximum lead of five minutes. The VAM mountain had to be climbed five times and the first two climbs immediately caused splits in the peloton.

Timo Roosen, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Mick van Dijke and Rick Pluimers were always in the first group. During the final climb of the VAM mountain, Roosen and Van Dijke attacked with four other riders and they ended up battling for victory.

According to sports director Robert Wagner everything went according to plan. “We may have been the strongest team in the race, but we didn’t win. The guys stuck to the plan well. In the beginning, the wind was a big disadvantage for us, so we only wanted to race from the first ascent of the VAM mountain. We did that well, so we ended up with four riders in a front group of fifteen riders. With Hofstetter, we had a fast rider in the group, with whom we did not want to go to the finish. It’s unfortunate we were in the breakaway with so many riders and that the best one finished fourth.”

Wagner believes his riders are not to blame. “Everyone gave everything. Timo and Mick did what they could but couldn’t get away and then ran into a strong counter by Van Gestel. Our guys were definitely among the better riders. Amazingly, four of them were in the breakaway and that’s why it’s even more disappointing that we couldn't finish it off. We made the race and the riders were strong as a group.”