I felt really good today, but when Sagan attacked on the Eikemolen about 10 km before the finish, I was too far back and not close enough to possibly go with the attack. He jumped with a few of the others who had been in the original break group. We couldn't close the gap and reached the finish a few seconds later. I finished 14th (photo), and used the sprint of the chase group to test my form again. The placing was of course not at all important.

My legs are good. I feel a lot better than I did in Tirreno and am optimistic for the coming days. From the profile, today was the most difficult stage and the overall rankings are usually mad here on the first day. I now hope for two good sprint finishes.

Photo: roth-foto.de