In the second stage from Saint-Ghislain to Ouffet, the peloton had to face a lot of altimeters. After the three escapees were caught, the peloton prepared for the Cote de Géromont, a short but steep climb at twelve kilometres from the finish line. Van Dijke made a strong impression and Per Strand Hagenes also showed his attacking skills.

However, both riders from Team Visma | Lease a Bike did not get any space and helped each other in the final as the reduced bunch sprint approached. Hagenes put Van Dijke into a good position, but the Dutchman missed the punch and was not able to contest the sprint. 

"It was a very fast race. Partly due to the tailwind, the average was almost 47 kilometres per hour. That does say enough about the level in the peloton,” sports director Maarten Wynants said. "Our goal was to race from the last climb. First it was Mick who got away with a small group and then Per tried several times. Unfortunately they didn't stay clear."

"In the final of the race, Julien, Jesse and Per did a good job for Mick, but he no longer had the legs to get a good result. He had not recovered in time from the effort he put in on the climb. That's unfortunate, but you never know beforehand how things will turn out. The boys showed themselves and that is a good sign for the coming stages."

Tomorrow is the queen stage of the five-day stage race. Wynants hopes Van Dijke and Hagenes can play a significant role in the finale, which is reminiscent of Liège-Bastogne-Liège. "This stage may not suit us as much on paper, but if you see how Per and Mick attacked today, I think they should be able to keep up for a long time. If the favourites start looking at each other, we will have to take advantage."