The course was very fast. In Ajman, the riders only had to make one turn during the nine-kilometre race. Dumoulin got off to a good start and maintained his smooth cadence until the finish. Only fellow time trial specialists Stefan Bissegger and Filippo Ganna proved faster than Dumoulin.

“I’m satisfied with this performance”, Dumoulin said. “I finished behind two true specialists. So I have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. The course was perfect for them. I prefer a longer and more hilly course. Still I became third, which makes me very happy. It is good to ride on a course like this in competition.”

In the general classification Dumoulin did good business. “It gives me confidence that I was able to create a small gap on the other classification riders. There are a lot of guys who are right behind me, but today I gave myself a good position for the rest of the week. I’m looking forward to the next few days with a good feeling.”