Annemiek van Fruten (Mitchelton-Scott) maintained her overall lead in the Boels Ladies Tour despite a mid-race crash on the first stage. She was lucky to get back on her bike without being involved in an accident, but said the race did not go well for her.

"I didn't have the ingredients to race this stage today, I was riding around trying to avoid crashes.

"I was involved in a crash right in front of me and unfortunately I could not avoid it. My wrist hurts and I hope we don't have four more stages like this."

Several crashes occurred on the flat and hectic 123-km stage between Stranploy and Weert. Van Vleuten, who had won the prologue the day before and was wearing the overall leader's jersey, was involved in one of them, falling 46 km from the finish.

She tore her bib shorts in the crash and suffered a minor wrist injury, but got back on her bike and rejoined the peloton, chasing from 6km back. From then on, she just wanted the race to be over.

"Some riders crashed in front of me and I ran over them. 'It was a big pile-up and I couldn't avoid it. My wrist was hurting so I decided to stay behind the peloton. Gracie [Ervin] helped me in the last four or five kilometers and I made it to the finish."

Others were unlucky and had to abandon the race. Van Vleuten's teammate Sarah Roy crashed just 20 km into the stage. After injuring her knee and hitting her head hard, she was unable to continue the race.

Claudia Coster (WNT-Rotor) was able to get back on her bike after the crash, but she also hit her head and is suspected to have a concussion. The rider and team agreed to suspend her as a precaution.

Aude Biannick (Movistar Team) was hit hard on the right side in the same crash that Roy crashed, injuring her hip, lower back, and elbow, and had to withdraw from the race. Medical checks revealed no broken bones in Bianic.

Mikayla Harvey (Bigla) also crashed, and Ruth Hogeboom (Beeler Pro Cycling) and Grace Garner (High Tech Products Bilk Sport) also abandoned.

Van Vleuten said that the race profile, with a completely flat route but also narrow roads, contributed to a hectic stage with many crashes.

"In a race like this, everyone gets nervous, especially when it's windy," he said. As a team, we can lose more on stages like this and we can't win without our sprinters."