Tadej Pogacar this time was unable to do what he often manages, that is, drop everyone and fly solo towards the finish line. The Slovenian reveals at the finish that he made some mistakes and found an unexpected rival. Here are his words: "Probably I launched my attack with too much enthusiasm: honestly, I was hoping that Alaphilippe would be able to collaborate with me for longer after attacking on the Gulperberg, I was left alone too soon but decided to continue. It was a beautiful race, in which however I was unable to gain the advantage I wanted. I knew I had Evenepoel and Skjelmose behind me, but above all I found myself dealing with a headwind. At that point I preferred to wait for them to play everything in the sprint, well knowing that it would still be risky".

And further: "In the sprint I paid the price for my efforts due to that headwind and finished second. Evenepoel did not surprise me, I knew he would race at the highest level. And Skjelmose simply proved to be stronger than us today".