Sensational VAM mountain stage with a thrilling finale: new leader Laporte and Kubis beaten by early attacker De Jong

The Tour of Holland has had a very unfortunate return so far. After 20 years, the race was supposed to put the Netherlands back on the map, but the cancellation of stage 3 due to unsafe conditions has significantly marred the event. With the fourth stage over the VAM mountain, the resumption was expected to provide plenty of spectacle.

The VAM mountain in Drenthe was conquered a total of 13 times. Many riders were already familiar with the course from the European cycling championships two years ago, particularly Christophe Laporte (Visma | Lease a Bike), who won the title at that time. On the first passage, seven riders managed to take the lead, including four Dutchmen, two Belgians, and one Frenchman.

Hartthijs de Vries (Unibet Tietema Rockets), Rick Ottema (Diftar), Roan Konings (Metec - SOLARWATT p/b Mantel), and Timo de Jong (VolkerWessels) represented the red, white, and blue. At the same time, the leading group also included Simon Goossens (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Ward Vanhoof (Flanders-Baloise), and Rayan Boulahoite (TotalEnergies). Under a glorious sun, the men built up a nice lead.

Remarkably, leader Ethan Hayter had already been dropped at the start of the race. The Brit, who had won the prologue and the time trial, was riding just under two minutes behind the peloton after three climbs up the VAM mountain. Not much later, he had to abandon the race: he was ill, his team reported on social media. This left Jakob Söderqvist, third in the prologue and second in the time trial, virtually in the lead.

That's why Lidl-Trek took responsibility for setting the pace. The lead group saw their advantage diminish, but on the seventh passage of the VAM mountain, the final sprint could begin. Mike Teunissen (XDS-Astana) opened the ball, but he didn't get any space. His teammate Davide Ballerini did.

The Italian was joined by Baptise Veistroffer (Lotto), Emils Liepins (Q36.5), and Andrea Pietrobon (Polti VisitMalta). Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal Quick-Step) also attacked, and the peloton—which still had about 40 riders left—fell silent. Could the breakaway riders dream of something big? Visma | Lease a Bike provided the answer with an acceleration.

Olav Kooij took the peloton in tow and attacked on the VAM mountain. He personally caught up with the pursuers, with Laporte on his wheel: the numbers 1 and 3 of the European Championships in Drenthe. Laporte then pushed on at the top, and only Lukas Kubis (Unibet Tietema Rockets) was able to follow. Ballerini, who had caught up, was just able to hang on.

Laporte and Kubis dropped the Italian not much later, but Lidl-Trek worked hard with Hoole to keep the gap small. With 17 kilometers to go, the duo made the connection, after which De Vries, Kubis' teammate, pulled away. The gap with the chasers widened steadily. But on the penultimate VAM mountain, the escapees still managed to hang on.

So we entered the final lap with six riders: there were several accelerations by Laporte, Kubis, and De Vries, among others, but Ottema, De Jong, and Boulahoite were able to follow. We then headed for the last VAM mountain, where Kubis attacked very early on the cobbles. De Jong followed, and Laporte had to close a gap, after which De Jong defeated the two giants.