Van der Poel also best in Gavere
World champion Van der Poel finds Gavere to his liking after his solo in Zonhoven. The Dutchman made it 26 seconds ahead of leader in the standings Michael Vanthourenhout. Thibau Nys finished in third place, 41 seconds behind the winner.
The fastest start in Gavere went to Thibau Nys (Baloise Trek Lions). The European champion immediately turned on the throttle and got leader in the standings Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) on his wheel. Ronhaar (Baloise Trek Lions) was also able to join the two in front. The pace dropped briefly when Nys made a slide after trying to clear the mud from his front wheel with his hands. At the end of the first lap, there was a leading group of four, as world champion Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) had also sneaked into the mix.
World Cup leader Vanthourenhout, who won in Namur earlier this season, clearly felt comfortable on this tough course. On the second lap, he continued to set the pace, with world champion Van der Poel on his wheel. Nys also held on, but for Ronhaar it was quietly becoming too fast.
Lap three was the world champion’s moment. Van der Poel arched his back and metre by metre rode steadily away from his companions. Vanthourenhout and Nys were evenly matched and for the rest of the race they rode together in pursuit of the world champion. With two laps to go, Nys decided to put pressure on his companion. His attempt to get away did not work. On the contrary, Vanthourenhout saw that his moment had come and made an effort to get away himself. In the meantime, Van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) had joined his teammate.
Van der Poel started the final lap with a 32-second advantage. It was the battle for third place that remained exciting, but all of a sudden, Van der Haar had to let his teammate go. For a brief moment, Nys seemed to be catching Vanthourenhout, but the latter had one last acceleration in his legs. The world champion eventually finished 26 seconds ahead of the leader in the standings. Nys took third place, 41 seconds behind the winner.
