The riders were presented with a puddle of mud in Essen. Van Aert, who had taken a wait-and-see approach at the start, stayed close to the three leaders for several laps. At the halfway point, the Belgian decided to increase the pace. In no time, he had a safe lead and was riding solo towards his fifth professional win in Essen.

"I needed the first few laps to assess my form and assess the competition”, Van Aert said. "Every lap, the conditions got harder and harder, and halfway through the race, I noticed I was the best in the running sectors. Then, I found my rhythm, which allowed me to build up a lead. I struggled a bit at the end, but that is not unusual on a course like this. It's always good to start here. I am happy that I was able to please the crowd.

"The feeling today was better than I had hoped”, he continued. "It was difficult to predict how I would do here. This winter, I am deliberately taking a calmer approach than in previous years. It's good not to put too much pressure on myself during the winter. Above all, I want to have fun, and that was the case today.”

Van Aert heads to Spain next week for a training camp with Team Jumbo-Visma. The Belgian will return to racing on 22 December in Mol. "I hope to improve my form during the training camp for the upcoming Christmas period. After my last race in January, I will concentrate on the upcoming road season.”