The first stage in line took the peloton in the cold from Château d'Oex to Fribourg. With seven climbs and a lot of altimeters, it was certainly not an easy stage.

After Jan Tratnik showed himself along the way, Robert Gesink got himself to the front of the peloton to catch six early escapees. That finally succeeded on the final climb of the day, after which a depleted peloton could prepare for a sprint. The victory was for Frenchman Dorian Godon. Van Dijke crossed the line in seventeenth place.

“Our plan today was to aim for Tim's sprint,” explained team leader Grischa Niermann afterwards. “Partly due to interference from the team, that sprint eventually came. Unfortunately Tim was a bit hemmed in in the last kilometer. As a result, he didn't get to sprint at all. That is unfortunate. Nevertheless, he rode very strongly for the second day in a row, which now puts him in fourth place in the general classification and the leading position in the youth classification.”

The sports director is also already looking forward to tomorrow. “Then it's climbing again. We will see what we can do. Realistically we are not among the favorites, but we will certainly sell our skin dearly. Jan Tratnik, for example, is riding very strongly and is feeling good. Perhaps he can do something nice,” Niermann concluded.