The Dutch Mathieu Van der Poel, nephew of the eternal second Raymond Poulidor, won the Tour of Flanders, preceding the other favorite of the eve, the Belgian Wout Van Aert, in the sprint.
Van der Poel made his mark 34 years after his father Adrie Van der Poel's success.
The decisive moment of this great cycling Classic came on Koppenberg, 45 kilometers from the end, with an attack by world champion Julian Alaphilippe that shattered the group. Six kilometers later, the second lunge of the French champion, which only Van der Poel and Van Aert resisted. At -35 km from the finish, the unexpected happened, with Alaphilippe who hit a jury bike placed in the wrong place and flew to the ground on the asphalt. So the two athletes who shared the last six cyclocross world titles (three each) remained in command, and this time, on the road, Van der Poel won by a handful of centimeters.