Leading group with Pepijn Reinderink and Koen Bouwman
The stage was over for a long time of an early flight of six riders, including Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal-Quickstep) and Koen Bouwman (Jayco-Alula team). Nicolas Vinokurov, Joel Nicolau, Alessandro Verre and Hugo de la Calle were the remaining 4 refugees.
Hugo de la Calle on his own
With more than 80 kilometers to go, it was over with the flight attempt of the six, but De la Calle did not want to give up weeks and ran away in his uppie. The Spaniard, who is running with the pros for the first time this season, lasted and at one point had almost a minute ahead of the peloton. 39 kilometers before the finish, the adventure was over for De La Calle.
Complete platoon on the way to finish
A complete platoon went to the finish in a straight line. Flight attempts were no longer tolerated. It turned out to be a mass mate in which Philipsen once again showed the fastest.
For Philipsen it is the fourth victory of the season. He also won the first stage in the Tour de France and took the yellow leader’s jersey there. Because of a fall, he had to give up in the third stage.