The opening stage in Denmark is made for the sprinters. The main favorites are Forster, Van Avermaet, Swift and Ciolek but there are a lot of other good sprinters that could take the win today to it’s an open stage
Te Brake won the first intermediate sprint of the day in front of Weiss and Blaudzun
Later those 3 were joined in the leading group by the Canadian Champion, Rollin
Behind them there was made a chasing group, that also attacked from the pack, with Page, Iannetti, Duran and Remme
The chasers managed to catch the leading group but because of the strong wind it was almost impossible for the escapes to stay together. That’s why at the second intermediate we saw Duran leading the race all by himself
30 seconds behind him Rollin and Te Brake were leading the chasing group
The only escape that wasn’t there was Remme, who clearly doesn’t like the wind and is left 1 minute behind the chasing group
7 minutes behind Duran we have the pack lead by 100% Me and NOS. Big plans today for Swift and Van Avermaet
Duran was also first at the top of the only climb of the day with means that he will wear the KoM jersey tomorrow
The chasers lead by Iannetti are only 15 seconds behind him and they should catch him soon
The pack lead now by Lego and 100% Me won over 2 minutes since the last check over the escapes
And on the downhill, as expected, Duran was caught by the chasing group. We have now a 7 men group in front of the race
50 kilometers before the finish, Remme was caught. Not really a smart move from him to attack and stay alone almost the entire day
For the last intermediate sprint of the day it was quite a close battle between Te Brake and Rollin, but the last one got it
Still the esapes won’t probably be able to stay in front for too long as the pack is now just 2 minutes behind them
With 30 kilometers before the finish Iannetti attacked and got to stay for another few minutes in front, while the others were being caught
But only 5 kilometers later his adventure on today’s stage ended as well
With 20 kilometers before the finish there’s no escape in front of the pack and we heading to mass sprint
10 kilometers later Molteni made the first move in the pack with Vanthourenhout and Galdos
On the other side of the road the Jack Wolfskin and Wiggle trains were being made
And the those seem to be the fastest, with Rowe leading Trusov, while Traksel is doing the same thing for Van Stayen
3 kilometers before the finish Wiggle and Jack Wolfskin clearly have an advantage over the other trains. But some other riders got in their slipstreams, Lloyd and Cooper following the Jack Wolfskin train, while Friedman and Williams are behind Wiggle’s train
When the sprint started Rowe was losing speed, which didn’t put Trusov in a very good position while Traksel was doing a great job for Van Stayen and for the others that were following him
2 kilometers before the finish Van Stayen was leading but Trusov was coming really fast from behind, while Lloyd was ready to jump from the Belgian’s wheel
Before entering the last kilometer Van Stayen still has a little advantage over Trusov, while Lloyd is losing speed, with Friedman and Cooper right behind him
Even though he has be leading for an while, Van Stayen seems to be able to hang on in front of Trusov quite well
400 meters before the finish, Van Stayen and Trusov look to have secured their places today, while the battle for the third spot is still open, with Friedman overtaking Lloyd
And it’s a win for Van Stayen. The Belgian wins in front of Trusov and Friedman and becomes the first leader of the race
