Without Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who was unable to start due to illness, Team Visma | Lease a Bike Women immediately made their presence felt. Daniek Hengeveld and Lieke Nooijen both tried to get a breakaway going, but neither attempt was successful.

In the peloton, the focus shifted to the tough finale, which featured two climbs. On the final climb, Van Dam was well positioned at the front by her teammates. The Canadian fought hard, but ultimately just could not follow the GC contenders. Van Dam crossed the finish line in a strong seventh place.

“The plan was to get into the breakaway,” Marianne Vos reflected afterwards. “We were in the break a few times, but unfortunately not in the right one. The pace was extremely high in the finale and everything exploded on the final climb. Sarah was well positioned and rode a strong finale, which she rewarded with a great seventh place.”

Team manager Rutger Tijssen also reflected on the stage, which started with the disappointing news that Ferrand-Prévot would not be able to continue. “It is obviously disappointing that Pauline could not continue, but health comes first and we are determined to come back stronger next year. It is great to see other riders step up and show themselves. They did an excellent job today.”