Six riders from six different teams – Gediminas Bagdonas of , Ian Wilkinson of , 's Mathieu Claude, 's Stijn Neirynck, and riding for British continental teams and , Richard Handley and Wouter Sybrandy – were left to fight for the victory themselves, with ending a pursuit to catch them with around 30 kilometers remaining, instead deciding to protect their leader Lars Boom and his lead overall.