This morning the organisers decided to start the stage in Røldal, some eighty kilometres away from the original start in Jondal. This resulted in the removal of a first-category climb from the route.

Due to the short distance, the peloton immediately set a fast pace. There were a few attacks, but nobody escaped from the peloton. In the end, around 50 riders made it to the finish in Hovden. Mick van Dijke sprinted to ninth place.

“A change, of course, changes everything”, sports director Maarten Wynants said. “Even though the organisation had cut 120 kilometres, it was still a long day. The weather conditions weren’t too bad during the race, but it was eighty intense kilometres.”

“We couldn’t make the race hard enough. We certainly tried. The plan was to put Mick in the lead right from the start, but Ineos controlled the race from start to finish. Attila attempted to whittle down further the already thinned-out peloton on the final climb, but it didn’t work. He then indicated that Mick could sprint. He finished ninth, which is a good result”, Wynants concluded.