Vos’ withdrawal was a major setback for the yellow-and-black team, which had set its sights on stage wins with Vos this week, among other things. The 38-year-old rider crashed in the finale of the opening stage, but with the help of her teammates, she managed to return to the peloton and even sprinted to seventh place. However, examinations at the hospital revealed that she had broken her collarbone and could not continue.

Without Vos, the peloton set off on a 110-kilometre stage from Lobios to San Cibrao das Vinas. After a rapid opening phase, five riders managed to break away from the peloton, but they were unable to build up a significant lead. With just under thirty kilometres to go, the breakaway was caught and the peloton headed for a fast but tricky finale in Galicia.

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Marion Bunel and Van Dam were among a select group battling for victory. Shari Bossuyt proved the strongest in the sprint, whilst Van Dam secured fifth place. "This was a great opportunity for me to go for a result", said Van Dam. "My goal was to stay in Pauline’s slipstream for as long as possible and see how far I could get from there. I felt good. I came close, but it just wasn’t quite enough. We tried to give it our all today with Marianne in mind."

Sports director Jos van Emden is pleased with his riders’ attitude. "They’ve handled things well following Marianne’s withdrawal. Looking at the sprint, Sarah’s fifth place is a good reflection of that. It’s not just Pauline and Sarah, but the whole team that’s making a good impression. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. It’s going to be an interesting day."