With Femke de Vries in the black jersey as leader of the points classification, the peloton set off on a 145-kilometer ride in and around Dubai. Four riders broke away early on and quickly built up a seven-minute lead. That margin disappeared like snow in the sun as the peloton chased down the leaders.

With 30 kilometers to go, everything came back together and the peloton headed for a second bunch sprint. In the final kilometers, Veenhoven was brought to the front by her teammates, after which she had to choose her own line in the sprint. She started her sprint from far back, but thanks to an impressive acceleration, she secured a podium place.

"We did well as a team. That feels better than yesterday, when we had a slightly less successful day", Veenhoven said. "Today, we had to wait a long time for something to happen. With just a few kilometers to go, we moved up to the front. I lost my teammates for a moment, but just before the turn, I found Margaux again. She guided me through the second turn, and then I went my own way."

"I started the sprint from far back, but I had more speed than the girls in front of me. I thought to myself: this should still be possible. I came close to second place, but it ended up being third", said Veenhoven, who claimed her first podium spot of the season. "I think we should be happy that we achieved this. We have to try to continue this trend for the rest of the week."

Tomorrow will most likely be another bunch sprint. "The chance of echelons is small because we're riding through the city. I think it will be a very different sprint than today. We'll have to make a plan on how to approach it, but I'm confident that we can achieve another good result tomorrow."