Van Aert had to skip the Flemish Opening Weekend due to illness, but had recovered enough to make his appearance in the Walloon cobbled classic today. The same could not be said for Christophe Laporte. The Frenchman, who played a key role in Matthew Brennan's victory in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne last Sunday, did not feel completely fit and decided, in consultation with the medical staff, to skip the race.

Team Visma | Lease a Bike lined up at the start of the 1.1 race with a young team. In addition to Hagenes and Van Aert, Pietro Mattio, Loe van Belle and Development riders Matisse Van Kerckhove and Aldo Taillieu were part of the six-man line-up. With 60 kilometres to go, Hagenes and Mattio saw their chance to break away from the peloton and were joined by several other riders. The group caught up with the leading group and gained a half-minute lead over the peloton.

On the Rue de Belle Vue, one of the most difficult cobbled sections of the course, Hagenes went on the attack. The Norwegian rode away on his own and immediately took a significant lead over his fellow escapees. While the rest were caught by the peloton, Hagenes remained in the lead. In the final kilometres, a fighting Hagenes gave everything he had, but just after the final kilometre mark, he had to admit defeat after a solo ride of more than 30 kilometres.

"It was quite a battle, but it was worth the try", Hagenes said afterwards. "With two laps to go, we rode away with a nice group. The cooperation wasn't optimal, so I thought: I'm going for it and we'll see where it takes me. At the end, I felt my tank running empty, but I didn't want to give up. I did my best, but in the end it was just not enough."

When Hagenes was caught, Van Aert was no longer able to compete for the victory. The Belgian suffered a flat tyre in the final and was therefore eliminated. "I had to swap bikes with a teammate and then I was in no man's land. That was a shame", Van Aert said.

"I felt okay, but I would have liked to race in the final to see how far I could get. As a team, we were in a good position with Per riding at the front and looking really strong. My plan B was to stay at the front and jump in on any counterattacks. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way."

Despite missing out on a good classification, Van Aert is looking ahead with confidence to the races to come. "It was definitely the right choice to start here. I think I took a step forward today. With regard to Strade Bianche, this is of course not quite the build-up I had in mind, but I am definitely looking forward to returning there."