In the race with start and finish in Cologne, eight riders went clear from the peloton. The octet's lead was up to six minutes, but due to Team Visma | Lease a Bike the advantage decreased. Among others, Brennan, who will make the transition to Team Visma | Lease a Bike's WorldTour team next season, showed an attacking spirit and created a gap on the peloton.

Brennan and his two companions worked well together and built up a one-minute lead. The peloton reeled them in at twelve kilometers from the finish, after which the sprinters' teams prepared for a bunch sprint. Brennan and Van Belle were well positioned in the final kilometer, but got boxed in on the right side of the road. Casper van Uden sprinted to victory.

"I have seen a very strong and active team at work. I can only be very satisfied with that," sports director Robert Wagner said. "We were where we had to be, only the situation with Matthew in the break wasn't ideal. He is our strongest sprinter, but when he got to the front, we thought: maybe other riders will join him. Unfortunately, that didn't happen."

In the final sprint, Julien Vermote and Tosh Van der Sande did a perfect job of dropping off Brennan and Van Belle at the front, but the youngsters were unable to compete for the win. "I can't blame the boys for anything. They all showed commitment and did their best. I'm super happy with the way they rode," Wagner said.