Without the sick Tiesj Benoot, the riders left Liège for the last spring classic of the season. On the undulating Ardennes roads, eleven riders had a significant lead, but this disappeared when the peloton increased the pace on the steep climbs.

On the Cote de la Redoute, Remco Evenepoel was the first of the favourites to attack. The young Belgian immediately created a gap and picked up the remaining riders one by one. Van Aert kept calm in the depleted peloton and hoped he could close the gap on the Cote de la Roche-aux-Faucons.

That hope was dashed when Van Aert was dropped just before the top of the final climb. He fought his way back into the chasing group. Meanwhile, Evenepoel did not see his victory threatened. In the battle for the podium, Van Aert secured third place.

"This was the highest result possible for me", Van Aert said. "I tried to follow the best climbers and on top of the Cote de la Roche-aux-Faucons, I struggled to keep up. In the final kilometres I gave everything to sprint for the podium, which took a lot of strength. It was a sprint of dying swans, but fortunately it was just enough for the podium. Riding in the Belgian championship jersey, I really wanted a podium place."

For Van Aert, who had to skip the Tour of Flanders and Amstel Gold Race due to a corona infection, it was his second consecutive podium spot. "My goal was to win a monument this spring and unfortunately I failed. However, given the circumstances, I can be satisfied with how I performed. All in all, it was a nice and successful spring."