With more than 2800 metres of climbing, the stage was challenging. The GC riders were particularly looking forward to Fox Creek, a one-kilometre wall with a ten percent gradient. It had to be climbed three times, and the final summit was eight kilometres from the finish.

With the two leaders caught early in the finale, all eyes were on the GC riders. Luke Plapp was the first to attack, soon joined by Vader and others. The Dutchman showed his good legs but quickly realised the group could not escape. He finished 20th in the sprint of the reduced peloton.

"Milan felt good and went up with the best on the last climb. He kept his legs still when he realised there was nothing to gain. He made a good assessment", sports director Addy Engels said. "Today's stage was less exciting than expected. A few sprinters were dropped, but several survived. It didn't turn into a GC battle."

"These are not the days where we can win or make a difference", Engels continued. "All we can do is make sure we don't lose and stay where we are. We got through the day well, and everyone rode well. That's a nice observation. The next two stages will probably end up in a bunch sprint. The weekend will decide the classification."