“I was pretty nervous”, Van Poppel said. “It was my first real chance. The team did a great job and positioned me well. I was in Sagan’s wheel, because I knew I had to keep an eye on him. It was a sprint of dying swans. Today, there was a big chance for the win, but I wasn’t good enough.”

Van Poppel is in good shape, he believes. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have finished fourth. I suffered from the heat, but the whole peloton did. It takes twice as much effort.”