The prologue had a special set-up, with all teams riding in two formations of three riders. Owen Geleijn, Darren van Bekkum and Axel van der Tuuk were the first to get going for the black and yellow team. They finished one second behind their teammates in fourth place.

Sports director Sierk Jan de Haan was satisfied with the successful opening stage. “Our goal was to be in the top five with both formations. We’ve succeeded at that. At our training camp in Slovenia we prepared ourselves well for this and the boys have explored the route well today. They also determined the strategies and the order. Except for a few mistakes, today went very well. The guys are very proud and as a group we look back on this ride with a good feeling. Tomorrow we will ride with all the jerseys in our team. Hopefully that will give something extra.”