The opening stage took the peloton over a largely flat route from Ostend to Knokke-Heist. “It was quite a chaotic day because there was a fair amount of wind along the coast at the start of the race. At one point, a group of around thirty riders got away, and we had four riders represented in that group. As a team, we were in a good position throughout the race,” Veenhoven said.

On the local circuit, the remaining breakaway riders were caught, and the sprint trains began preparing for the battle for the stage win. Team Visma | Lease a Bike delivered Veenhoven into the perfect position at the foot of the final climb. “In the finale, the girls executed the plan perfectly. Everything went exactly as planned today, and our communication throughout the race was excellent.”

Thanks to a strong lead-out, the Dutch rider was able to time her sprint to perfection. Looking back, Veenhoven was pleased: “This victory is a very good start to the week. Our goal was to win a stage, and the fact that we managed to do it at the very first opportunity is a great bonus. It gives us a lot of confidence for the rest of the week.”