The final day of action at the CRO Race saw the bunch take on a predominantly flat route to Zagreb, albeit with a punchy climb to contend with on the local finish laps. It was a fast start to the day though with the opening intermediate sprint situated only four kilometres into the stage. The team worked well to bring Oscar Onley into position who duly sprinted to second place and took with it the two bonus seconds. As a result, he moved to six seconds within the race lead of Vingegaard while Mohoric was just one second ahead of him.

After that opening flurry the race settled down with a five rider group going clear, with all Team DSM riders in the bunch and focusing on the finale. Heading into Zagreb the pace ramped up and the break was caught on the first ascent of the climb, with the bunch thinning down after some good positioning work by the team.

On the technical circuit the tempo stayed high and the race strung out, with Chris Hamilton, Max Poole and Onley well to the fore in the peloton. Heading up the climb for the last time Onley was well towards the front but it just wasn’t hard enough to create any gaps. An unfortunate crash on the descent saw the Team DSM trio have to slow down, with Poole ultimately leading the team home in 11th place with Onley not far behind.

In the end, it was enough for Onley to secure a brilliant third place on GC alongside winning the best young rider jersey classification, while Hamilton also moved up to ninth overall to round out a good week of racing for the team in Croatia.

“Today was a really fast stage with the bonus seconds having an effect on the GC,” explained Onley at the finish. “The boys sat around me all day before the positioning into the local lap. Big credit to Max who really looked after me during the final which was hectic. I’m happy to finish up third overall and a huge thanks to the staff and the guys for all their work this week. It was a super nice experience.”

Team DSM coach Wilbert Broekhuizen added: “It was a really hectic start because Bahrain wanted to control and go for the bonus seconds, while Jumbo wanted to put someone in the break – so it was a really big fight. Mohoric took the first three seconds and Oscar took two seconds, so the GC came a bit closer. Then the big fight was on and I think the first hour we averaged over 55 kilometres per hour and the guys did well to position Oscar going into the local lap. In the end Oscar could finish in a good way so we take home third on GC and the best young rider’s jersey, along with some stage podium results. I think we can be proud of how everyone worked this week, both on the bike and off it, so I’m pleased with how our time in Croatia went.”