"I am disappointed. When it's as close as it was today, it's always a shame to lose", said Van Aert. "It was an intense battle. I broke away halfway through the race and made the decisive move together with Tibor. I tried to put pressure on him in the final part of the course, but I couldn't shake him off. I could feel that we were evenly matched."

Van Aert had a difficult start and was immediately forced to chase. After three laps, he joined the front group and immediately took the lead. Del Grosso saw the danger and rode away from the rest with Van Aert. The two took a comfortable lead and were left to decide who would take the victory. 

In a two-man sprint, Van Aert fell just millimeters short of claiming his first victory of the season. "There was a strong headwind on the finish road. It was difficult to start the sprint from the front. In hindsight, I should perhaps have gone for it earlier, but then there was a risk that I would take Tibor with me in my slipstream. It was sport at its purest. In the end, he was just the stronger of the two."