Greig Leach

All of those who got to the finish line (and even those who were pulled before hand) were completely drained by the toughness of the race, the weather, and the length of the race. With just five kilometers to race, it seemed no one was able to launch an attack. Many of those still in this group were not going to be able to out sprint the champions of the sport including three former World Champions, Tom Boonen (Belgium), Mark Cavendish (Great Britain) and Peter Sagan (Slovakia). Yet, no one had yet to jump out of the long line of sweating riders being lead by Truls Korsaeth (Norway), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway), Giacomo Nizzolo, Jacopo Guarnieri (Italy) and the only two Dutchmen to make this group, Niki Terpstra and Tom Leezer.