Van Aert dived into the field again in the West Flemish town of Gullegem. The triple world champion started from the third row, but he made his way to the head of the race in no time. On the technical course, the race remained undecided for a long time.  

Halfway through the race a quartet, including Van Aert, formed the leading group. Moments later, only Belgian champion Iserbyt had a response to another acceleration by Van Aert. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider then continued to put pressure on Iserbyt, who had to let Van Aert go. It was the first victory in the field for the Belgian, who is mainly focused on the upcoming road season.  

“This win came as a surprise to me”, Van Aert responded afterwards. “I didn't expect I was going to be able to beat these guys on this course. On the technical sections I sometimes struggled to follow the others, but I knew the tricky course would start to weigh on everyone. On the last lap, I increased the pace once more, which ultimately proved to be enough to take victory. I'm very satisfied with that.”  

“It’s always a great feeling to win”, Van Aert adds. “I came here with low expectations, so I'm obviously happy with how I’m feeling now. I had to dig deep today, but tomorrow there’s already another tough race in Dendermonde. I’ll give my best there again. I’m looking forward to it.”