Four riders tried their luck in the race’s opening phase. The peloton kept the gap bridgeable and on the penultimate climb of the day, the breakaway was caught. Loe van Belle then tried to break away on a descent, but his attack soon ended. On the last climb, Mauro Schmid and Edward Dunbar broke away from an elite group and Tobias Foss went along with them.

Sports director Sierk Jan de Haan was satisfied with the first day. “I am happy that Tobias was among them, even though it hurt. When we needed to be well-positioned, we were where we needed to be. After that key moment, 25 kilometres of climbing and steep descents followed. That’s where the pace went up. When Dunbar and Schmid broke away, it broke the peloton. Behind the two leaders, a group of twenty men had formed, including Tobias. Behind them, our other five riders were in a group of fifty. Our riders pushed the limits today, and they did a good job. We can build upon this.”