After three stages suitable for the sprinters, the Eneco Tour riders took part in the time trial in Hoogerheide. The course was a 13,9 km around Hoogerheide, with long straights, large bends and some harder turns.

Diego Ulissi recorded the best performance for Lampre-Merida, covering the course in 17’21" in 39th place (+47″ compated to winner Van Emden). The result is fairly good compared to the performances of many of the opponents who’ll battle for a top result in the overall classification.

Van Emden is the new leader of the general standing, Ulissi is 38th with a deficit of 47″ (26″ from the top ten).

“My performance was  consistent with my aims, I’m satisfied especially with the feelings I had during the stage,” Ulissi explained. “I passed the first three stages without being involved in crashes and having limited the loss in the time trial. Now I focus my attention on the trio of key stages: I think I have the qualities to be with the best riders and the gaps in the classification are not so large, so my ambitions are high“.