Three minutes into the race, it was clear that it would be a two-man battle. Both riders took off at lightning speed, leaving the others behind. In the early laps, Van der Poel made a few moves, but Van Aert refused to back down and managed to keep his wheel. From the fourth lap onwards, the 28-year-old Belgian took the lead several times, but could not gain any ground on Van der Poel. As a result, the race would have to be decided in a sprint. Van Aert was the first to hit the tarmac, and Van der Poel immediately launched himself into the sprint. Unable to match the Dutchman's acceleration Van Aert took silver.

"I'm disappointed I didn't win the race”, Van Aert said. "From the first minute, Mathieu put a lot of pressure on me. I was at my limit for the first half hour. I then focused on the sprint because attacking would not have been the best tactic. I prepared myself for a scenario where I would be second coming onto the finish strip. I got a bit confused when I was pushed to the front. That's part of racing. In hindsight, I might have had a better chance if I had gone for the sprint straight away. Chapeau to Mathieu for squeezing out such a sprint.”