Nothing much happened on the flat course heading north. Three riders rode in front for a long time, but were caught when a strong crosswind created some momentum in the peloton. For a while this created a split, but after a few kilometers the peloton came back together. Thus, a bunch sprint appeared inevitable.

In that sprint, Van Dijke nestled himself in the front of the peloton in the absolute closing stages, partly due to clever work by teammate Edoardo Affini. The 24-year-old Dutchman squeezed out a powerful sprint, resulting in fourth place.

"It's thanks to Edoardo that I got into good position in the finale," Van Dijke said. "Together with him I worked my way through the peloton from the backfield. It's nice to see that, despite several setbacks, we remain positive and ambitious. We start every stage with a clear goal. We also pursue that specific goal one hundred percent every time. Today we aimed for a sprint, tomorrow in the time trial Edoardo wants to go for a good result. Next week I hope to sprint again in the final stage towards Rome. If everything falls into place, maybe we can get close to a podium place again. Today we were very close. In any case, it boosted our confidence."