Two weeks ago he was denied the jersey of the Belgian champions. In the title fights, Wout van Aert, who had started the race as a favourite, caused a false start and was disqualified for it. The Belgian was luckier today. With impressive dominance, he continuously took time from the competition from the first round and thus secured his first world championship title. The Belgian occupied behind him Michael Vanthourenhout and reigning World Cup winner Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) took second and third place.
After a quick start, Van Aert made his decisive attack in the first lap. "I attacked early", he said after the race, “but my lead increased from lap to lap. It's incredible."
In contrast to the day before, the drivers had different conditions. A dry night and new sand deposits made the route a lot faster. The Belgians initially benefited from this, dominating the race from the start. Behind Van Aert, who made his decisive attack in a running passage, and Vanthourenhout, Laurens Sweeck and Toon Aerts also put in a solid performance. The Dutch were initially left behind. Van der Poel, who had meanwhile been trailing behind in sixth place, only managed to make contact with Sweeck and Aerst on the last lap and finally made it to the finish in third place.
//Result
1. Wout Van Aert (Belgium) 0:49:35
2. Michael Vanthourenhout (Belgium) 0:00:50
3. Mathieu Van Der Poel (Netherlands) 0:01:17
4. Laurens Sweeck (Belgium) 0:01:19
5. Toon Aerts (Belgium) 0:01:26