Crosswinds once again served to split the peloton to pieces in conjunction with some aggressive riding, not least from the Etixx-QuickStep team of Tom Boonen and defending champion Niki Terpstra.
By the finale, an elite group of 15 riders remained out front with Andrea Guardini (Astana) placing second behind Kristoff and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) in third. The outcome confirmed the race's status as a serious warm-up for the classics contenders.
British riders Adam Blythe (Orica-GreenEdge) and Ian Stannard (Sky) both finished in the top 10 - in seventh and 10th positions respectively.
Overnight leader Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) was not part of the lead group, and so relinquished his position at the top of the table to Kristoff. Boonen sits in second place by just one second, with Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) in third at three seconds.
Luke Rowe (Sky) is the highest-placed British rider overall in 11th place, with Stannard in 12th and Blythe in 13th. All three are 10 seconds adrift of Kristoff.
Bradley Wiggins (Sky) missed the day's decisive split to finish 109th and 9-18 behind Kristoff, although he will have his eye on Tuesday's time trial stage.
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