The pace of the opening stage was high. Many riders tried to break away from the peloton, but it took a long time for a lead group to form. It was only after the Sitzberg climb that Van Agt and five other riders took a serious lead.

The six held on for a long time, but when Urska Zigart went off alone, the adventure was over. The peloton caught up with her six kilometres from the line, and Zigart was also caught in the final hundred metres. Eleonora Gasparrini sprinted to victory, while Kraak finished 16th in the same group.

"Our main goal was to defend Amber's fifth place, and we did that”, race director Lieselot Decroix said. "It was a challenging stage with an undulating course. After the first big climb, a lead group formed, and Eva was in it. It was a perfect scenario for us.

"We didn't intend to start the breakaway, but we wanted to go when a group got away. Eva was in the right place to go with them. We knew she was strong and were confident that she could do something in the final. Unfortunately, she couldn't keep up when Zigart attacked.”

With one stage to go, the yellow and black squad will do everything possible to keep Kraak in fifth place. "We rode very well as a team today, and I think we have gained a lot of confidence for tomorrow's stage. This final will be a bit more difficult than today's”, Decroix predicted.