Van den Broek took a gamble against the sprinters, much to Stewart’s dislike: "It's frustrating"

Van den Broek explains to NOS how he ended up in a beautiful but challenging situation. "There was that crash on the descent. I hope everyone is okay. I ended up with Groves and Stewart, who are outstanding sprinters. I thought it was a tough situation for me to win. I thought, 'I'm not taking the lead anymore.' And Stewart left a gap, so I thought Groves would win the stage. But he was the strongest in that group anyway. Finishing second is the best result possible."

When Van den Broek didn't take another turn at the front, his British breakaway companion also kept his legs still. “I said: I'm not going to ride, I can't sprint against you guys with my 1000 watts,” laughs the Dutchman. "I said: ‘Congratulations, you're giving away the stage here.’ He was a bit annoyed with me; he didn't understand why I didn't want to ride with him. I had my reasons; I stuck to the strategy. I think that was the best thing to do; I don't know what would have happened if I had followed Groves. I think I would have finished third."

Could last year's runner-up in the opening stage have played it differently? ‘Perhaps I should have gone with Sweeney,’ he says, referring to the Australian who broke away 60 kilometers from the finish. ‘He went very early, with a headwind. I had expected more from guys like Wellens and Jorgenson. But everyone was mainly watching them." Wellens finished eighth, one place ahead of the American from Visma | Lease a Bike.

With riders like that in the leading group, Van den Broek can only be proud of his performance in the 20th stage. “We rode away with a group of guys who I thought would make it very difficult. Second place is a great result. We've had a great Tour, with many riders in the top 10, and we were in contention for the victory. So I can only be satisfied looking back.”

The fact that the Picnic rider was still able to break away says a lot about his ability to recover. He still looked pretty fresh after three weeks of racing and a tough stage. “I don't feel like that,” laughed Van den Broek, who then added a little nuance. “I have to say that I haven't gotten much worse in this Tour, and the rest maybe a little more. That's nice to see.” So, tomorrow again? “Who knows, we'll see,” the climber concluded with a wink.

Stewart was, of course, the least satisfied with Van den Broek. "He didn't want to ride with us," the Brit told ITV. "At that point, we were riding for a top-three finish, and I don't think the others would have come back. He didn't feel like sprinting with Kaden and me, but with that little climb so close to the finish, he had the legs to make it difficult for us. We would have had a hard time there."

But Van den Broek kept his legs still. "I didn't want to take him to the climb and then let him ride away. I thought: you have to dare to lose in order to win. At that moment, it was logical to bluff, but he bluffed harder. He ended up second. Hats off to him, but it's frustrating," concluded the fast rider from Israel - Premier Tech.